Dear Friends and all who have been anxiously awaiting the news since last night: Imre is doing well now, he was pushed out of the operating room half an hour ago. His ankle was completely shattered, 11 screws and a lot of metal plates and wires were used to mosaic it together. Two orthopaedic doctors performed a demonstration surgery on him for a group of trainee doctors. He'll be off the field for a good few weeks, but then, if all goes well, he'll be back to hiking - although we'd rather avoid the rougher terrain for a while.
We can't tell you how grateful we are for the help of the Cave Rescue Service and for the empathetic, humane way they kept in touch with us during the long hours of waiting and then the way they handled the whole rescue - with culture, discretion and respect. Their doctor has kept in touch with us ever since - we really appreciate his care. And thank you to the nice couple hiking near us for their help in the first few metres, thanks to them Imre was able to get out to where the cave rescuers reached us. Thank you also to the rescuers of the National Ambulance Service, who came from several counties away, for making the trip to the hospital before heading home. And thank you to our guardian angels in action for writing the numbers of the Cave Ambulance Service on our mobile phones before we left! We encourage all fellow hikers to check their website when heading out into rougher terrain and enter their relevant number into your mobile phone. In case of trouble, they are the ones to call, as 112 or the fire brigade would alert them in the same situation.
We wish you all an accident-free hike, Orsi Bojtár and Katalin Bagi (the article about the rescue is available by CLICKING HERE)