MAF pilot Glenys Watson reunites with her medevac patient John (credit: Kowara Bell)

In February, MAF pilot Glenys Watson flew John to hospital after he was viciously attacked by a gang whilst walking home. MAF’s medevac saved his life. Seven months later, Glenys catches up with John in Nomane, Simbu Province.

When John from Habai Village was violently robbed at knifepoint and left for dead, chances of survival were slim. With his cries drowned out by the nearby Waghi River, it was a while before he was found and MAF was alerted.

Without MAF’s speedy medevac piloted by Glenys Watson to Kundiawa General Hospital, John would have bled to death. He has now made a full recovery.

On 12 September, Glenys and John reunite for the first time since his attack.

John offers his heartfelt thanks to Glenys:

‘My life ended on that day, but I was granted a second chance in life. You flew me to Kundiawa and that’s why I want to thank you – may God bless you.’

John from Habau Village – MAF medevac patient

Glenys is elated with John’s progress:

‘I am delighted to see you are well and alive back in your village. I was grateful that I was able to help you at the time. MAF instructed me to assist you and I saw that your head was fractured and your condition was not looking good – that’s why I flew you to hospital.’

Attacked on the way home

John was left for dead with serious knife wounds (credit: Andrew Yalbai)

In the early hours of one Friday morning in February, John was walking home to remote Habai Village using the well-trod Nourei – Nomane bush track.

He was carrying three bags of flour (a total of 25kg) and eight litres of oil, which he planned to sell to pay for his two sons’ school fees.

He was ambushed by a local gang carrying bush knives. Not wishing to put up a fight, he handed over his precious belongings including his mobile phone. John thought that they wouldn’t harm him. He was wrong:

‘They took my money, my store goods and even the clothes that I was wearing. They told me to walk. When I started walking, they attacked me with their bush knives from the back.’

Dissatisfied with their plunder, the gang mercilessly struck John several times on the head, left jaw, neck and shoulders. He fell to the ground and they fled.

Defenceless, he began to bleed heavily and slipped into unconsciousness. They left him for dead.

Miraculously, John regained consciousness and began to call for help, but the nearby raging Waghi River nearly drowned out his cries. John managed to get up and make his way towards the nearest community:

‘I noticed I was covered in blood from head to toe, but I vowed I wasn’t going to die there. I made my way through the hills shouting, “Jesus! Jesus! You alone exist!”’

A local pastor passing by, eventually heard John and stopped to help. Shocked by John’s blood-soaked clothes, he made a number of calls from his mobile phone including to Nomane Health Centre.

Staff from the centre made their way down with a stretcher and drip to sustain him. In the absence of roads, they carried him back to the health centre, which was not advanced enough to give John the urgent medical treatment he so desperately needed.

Health worker Jeffery Lucas keeps John stable until MAF arrives (credit: Kowara Bell)

Health worker, Jeffery Lucas, tried to keep John in a stable condition. He was amazed John was still alive:

‘I didn’t think he’d make it because the bush knife wounds were so bad that he would have gone into concussion at this point due to blood loss, yet he was still conscious.’

John continued to bleed profusely, but time was not on his side. Stuck in the middle of the bush, it would take many hours to reach the nearest hospital, so how would he get there as quickly as possible?

MAF!

MAF pilot Glenys Watson medevacs John to hospital (credit: Kowara Bell)

MAF to the rescue

On 9 February, 30 minutes after a call to MAF’s base in Goroka, pilot Glenys Watson came to the rescue and landed at the nearby Nomane Airstrip.

Glenys medevacked John to hospital.

The MAF plane containing the poorly patient and his relative Andrew, landed at Kundiawa Airport at 2.30pm. An ambulance met them on arrival and drove them straight to Kundiawa General Hospital.

Andrew is impressed by MAF’s service (credit: Kowara Bell)

Andrew was impressed with MAF’s response:

‘It was unbelievable – I couldn’t believe how instantly MAF responded. Just a quick call to the MAF Goroka base and one of their pilots flying nearby rescued John!’

At Kundiawa A&E, John gets his stab wounds treated (credit: Andrew Yalbai)

At Accident and Emergency, John’s gaping wounds were finally cleaned, stitched up and bandaged. He received much-needed medication and pain relief, but sadly not a bed.

Due to a bed shortage, John was forced to sleep on the foyer floor in the Outpatients Department. Faced with nearly losing his life earlier, John was simply glad to be alive and just bedded down for the night.

With such seriously deep wounds, left untreated, John would have surely bled to death in the bush.

‘I was a dead man, but you saved my life. Thank you MAF for saving my life.’

John, MAF medevac patient

Without MAF’s swift flight, John would have bled to death (credit: Kowara Bell)

Community spokesperson, Jonah Obel, believes that God protected John’s life:

‘He should have died along the bush track, but he fought all the way because he has a clean heart and is a man of good deeds. We didn’t expect MAF to arrive on time because of our isolated location, but they did and that saved John.’

Since the 2022 elections, tensions have been brewing across PNG linked to widespread unemployment and the high cost of living. This has been compounded by a national fuel shortage.

In recent months, riots have broken out in major cities and towns including Simbu’s provincial capital Kundiawa in the Highlands. In February, Enga Province – also in the Highlands – saw an escalation of violence, which left dozens of people dead.