Sailing through Europe with the wind in your hair and a beloved partner by your side is a lifestyle many Australians dream of. It was the semi-retirement that Stephen Marshal and Philippa Stevens, both 67, continued to work hard for, enjoying two months of undisrupted bliss every year.
But, one day, during an idyllic sailing trip in Europe a month ago, their dream quickly turned into a nightmare.
The couple had sailed from Greece to southern France, and as they steered their boat into La Grande Motte Marina, a freak accident caught Philippa in the middle of a fast-moving rope with nowhere to go.
“You have to throw a rope over a bollard to pull you into the marina,” ex-police officer, turned operations manager, Stephen told Yahoo News. “She didn’t realise she was standing in the middle of the coiled rope on the deck.
“There were 13 tonnes of boat moving at about five knots an hour when the rope grabbed her leg and severed it off.
“She screamed in pain, and I ran to see her lying on the deck, her leg in the process of separating from her body.”
Stephen quickly tied a rope around her leg, creating a tourniquet to slow her blood loss. He yelled for help, seeking it from strangers in a place he’d never visited and whose language he didn’t speak.
“There was a lot of blood, and I was trying to keep her conscious. She just wanted to sleep… She kept saying, just let me go,” he said.
The taut rope severed Philip’s leg as the pair attempted to dock at the French marina. Source: Facebook/Cruising Rusalka
Touch and go in French hospital for 12 hours
Thankfully, assistance arrived quickly. A passerby called emergency services, and the marina manager held her hand, encouraging her in broken English to keep fighting.
“We were all lying in Philippa’s blood, and I remember thinking ‘you can’t die baby’,” he recalled.
Paramedics and firefighters arrived after about 30 minutes, and a medical helicopter 10 minutes later.
“Philippa was in shock, she couldn’t move and her body was starting to shut down through blood loss, but she hung in,” Stephen said. “She was airlifted to Montpellier Hospital and it was touch and go for about 12 hours.”
Philippa received emergency surgery and several blood transfusions. Despite the best efforts of the medical team, her leg couldn’t be reattached.
“I didn’t know if she would survive the next couple of days… She’s so strong,” Stephen said.
“I have seen some catastrophic injuries before, but never to somebody I love,” the ex-police officer said.
Three weeks later the couple flew home to Brisbane. Philippa has many challenges ahead of her, and while the couple are determined to return to a life at sea, Stephen’s priority is to do everything he can to look after Philippa.
Doctors were unable to reattach Philippa’s leg after the accident. Source: Facebook/Cruising Rusalka
Aussie couple face mounting $90,000 medical bills
The split-second incident has completely turned the couple’s world upside down, with the pair now facing $90,000 worth of debts from medical and transport costs. They now have to navigate financial uncertainty with only one income, maxed out credit cards, dwindling savings and a painfully low superannuation fund after Philippa pulled $60,000 to try to cover their costs. In a desperate bid to fundraise cash, Stephen even launched a GoFundMe page.
Philippa is hopeful they will be able to get back out to sea one day, but after only five weeks since the event, their future is uncertain.
“We enjoyed the freedom and the adventure of it, and that’s the way we wanted to spend our latter years of life,” Stephen said. “Philly doesn’t want to stop sailing. She doesn’t want to stop what we’re doing. Unfortunately, we don’t know how long it’s going to be until she’ll be able to face it again.
“Her willpower is incredible… I love her strength. I love her spirit.”
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