Hi all,

Well I am now beginning to get better after nearly being killed just outside Dakar in Senegal on January 30th. We hit the back of a lorry at night. We had travelled from St Louis and had broken the golden rule of not driving at night. It had been a real hassle as we had been stopped every 10 miles or so by Gendarmerie, customs etc.

Anyway we were driving near Tobola Jablo and when coming round a corner at 50 km hour a lorry was broken down in the middle of the road, no lights etc and we smashed into the back I was trapped by the steering wheel for 45 minutes and suffered multiple internal injuries and damage to my left leg. The spare wheel had come through the windscreen as it was on the bonnet (don't put the spare there it nearly killed us)

I was finally taken to Dakar and the nightmare began. I had to argue for clean needles they had no diagnostic equipment and to find people speaking french was hard enough, The British Embassy though were superb. Thankfully Jan (wifey) and my four daughters were uninjured. I spent two days in hospital and then a fortnight in hotel unable to walk (it seems accroding to my doctor in the UK I should have spent a night in Intensive Care, had an operation and spent two weeks in hospital). I wasn't allowed to leave the country without filing the police report and Assurance. This was a nightmare as I could only file it at the police station nearest the accident. They mainly only spoke Wolof. Again British Embassy helped. Corruption is rife.

I finally filed all the reports and got an english speaking lawyer to act on my behalf, the insurance claim is still going through even though they said only three weeks (yeah right). I would be interested in how many other people have made claims.

Finally I was taken to Gambia and was seen by an english speaking doctor at the MRC. He considered I had a femoral aneuryism and I was flown back to the UK. It was fantastic to get into a UK hospital with diagnostic equipment.

I was only told I was going to die twice in Sengal and Gambia which was scarey.

I am now getting better and walking without crutches although, expectation is another couple of months off work. My intial injuries are too long to list.

So advice on having a crash:-

Get in touch with yoru Embassy - straight away. Make sure you have a mobile phone that is charged - ours wasn't. Do not drive at night. Make sure your med kit is accessible for clean needles. Make sure you have good travel insurance (World Nomands were brilliant) and do get the Vehicle Assurance at the border. Make sure you have lots of money, 500 Uk pounds was needed each day in hospital.

I am mentally - just about getting over the crash.

Yours

Andy

P.S. Our story will be in Woman Magazine in the UK (1st May) and we will probably publish it as a book (we are talking with a publisher at the moment)

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