STILL BAY NEWS -"I will never swim again." These are the words of Lee Zhao, who along with his wife, Juan, almost drowned in the estuary in Stilbaai East on Saturday, 12 March.
Lee came to the South Cape Forum on Friday afternoon, 18 March, following the article that appeared in the newspaper.
He looked up each word in Chinese, because the article was in Afrikaans.
He wanted to know if the newspaper had the address and contact details of the person who saved him and his wife from drowning, because they wanted to thank him personally.
The newspaper arranged the meeting for Saturday morning at the parking area leading to the estuary.
It was both a joyous and emotional moment when the Zhao couple met Patrick and his wife, Johanna Jonnson.
For Patrick, too, the meeting was very special, because it allowed him to get closure. "The last time I saw them was when they were put in the ambulance on a stretcher. Now I could see for myself that they are okay. "
He added that the NSRI and ambulances were quick to respond. "I was especially worried about the woman, who was in a very bad condition."
According to Lee, neither he nor his wife can swim and they only played in the estuary because it was low tide.
"Suddenly the water felt deep and we were swept away by the ocean currents," he said. "We struggled for about five minutes to stay afloat, but Juan started drowning and my strength started to give in. I kept screaming for help and luckily for us Patrick was in the proximity and he heard me screaming for help."
To express his gratitude, Lee handed Patrick a gift bag. When Patrick opened the package later, he couldn't believe his eyes when he found a large amount of cash with a short note of appreciation in it.
"There is no way I can accept the money, but Lee is happy that I am donating it to the NSRI in Stilbaai," he later told the newspaper.
Patrick invited Lee and his wife to visit them one day and suggested they could go swimming, whereupon Lee shook his head and said: "Never again!"
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