Heard this morning from the wife of a Zim PH that Keith Atcheson's wife, Niki, was gored by a wounded buffalo at Chirisa Safari Area. The incident occured this morning as they were following up a buffalo that was wounded yesterday. She was being flown out from Chirisa today. No word on the severity of her injuries.

Thought everyone might like to know and to say a prayer for her return home.

Wow. Just re-read her article on buff hunting in the Selous (Big Game Adventures), last nite.

She and Keith seem like good people to me. I'll definitely say a prayer or two for them.

Canuck

Sorry to hear that. I hope she makes it.

I hope she is not seriously hurt, and pray for her quick and complete recovery

Ditto, WILL, Saeed.

That's a tough break, but always a possibility in buffalo country.

Here's to a full and speedy recovery.

George

Wishing Niki a speedy recovery.

Please keep us updated as you learn more.

Regards,
Dave

Spoke to Graham at 11:45 a.m. Chicago time on an unrelated issue. Graham said Niki will be o.k. Apparently the buffalo flipped her, broken arm,collarbone, gouge wound. Graham said the buff was killed by the P.H.George with a headshot.Hopefully it will be a speedy recovery for her.

Kathi

kathi@wldtravel.com

That's always the unknown when hunting dangerous game. Our prayers go out to her for a full and speedy recovery.

Thanks for the info Kathi. From what I've read of Niki, she will have the will to endure. God's speed from Wyoming!

From her written stories, she appears like a strong woman, and I hope and trust that she and her family will come through this okay.

That's a shame. It's good to hear she'll recover.

I wonder how it happened?

Our prayers are with them for a speedy and full recovery.

Kathi, Please keep us updated and send her our best wishes for a good and speedy return to health.

For the rest of us, this is another "wake up" call. Be careful out there!

Happy hunting!

I hope that she gets well soon and gets out there with the same spirit love thoughts game and outdoor life.

Cheers,

Andr�

Niki is in Intensive Care in a Johannesburg hospital, they expect that she will be in the hospital for several weeks before she can return to the USA.



As Kathi posted earlier, her injuries are serious but not life-threatening. However, there is always the possibility of unforeseen complications arising, so please keep her in your prayers and thoughts until she is home again and on the road to a full recovery.



Keith and Niki are private people and I don't want to violate their privacy during this difficult time, but I know they have many friends around the world who participate in this Forum and are concerned about Niki.



She cannot receive calls or flowers in the ICU, so Holly and I are going to send a Get Well card to the Atcheson's office in Butte.



Maybe we can help boost her spirits a little when she gets home and finds a stack of Get Well cards from friends and fellow hunters.



You can send a card to Niki at this address:



Nicole Atcheson

Jack Atcheson & Sons, Inc.

3210 Ottawa Street

Butte, MT 59701

I first met Niki when I heard about a wild woman who was hunting wild pigs in Hawaii with a knife, she definitely is tough -- mentally and physically.

My wife and I see her about once a year now, usually at SCI.

We will be praying for her recovery.

jim

I know a guy who was hit by a buffalo 4 years ago. His comments to buffalo hunters based on personal experience are:
06/15/04
We are all sorry to hear about Niki. Since she made it to the hospital in Jo�berg, her full recovery is likely. There are many things you need to know about medical care in Africa and transportation home.

Be sure you check out these items:

1. Possible transportation insurance afforded on your credit card.

2. Percentage of HIV possibility�African whole blood. Is she in Milpark Hospital?

3. Physicians are British trained and excellent, although the facilities are dated.

4. When you bring your medical records back from Africa, make sure they�re in English and not Afrikaans.

5. If she has sustained a leg injury, first class on British Airways has cubicles with foot and leg rests.

6. British Airways�fly Jo�berg to Heathrow. There is a small hospital at the airport. A layover of several hours is helpful. They will transport you in an airport ambulance. If IV�s are required, make sure you reserve a bulkhead seat that your back is against. This will facilitate hanging of IV bags. They can get you on the plane via the foodservice elevator. All you have to be able to do is sit up in order for the Captain to grant his approval for flying.

7. Traveling with a medical technician is very helpful and may be required.

8. My orthopedic surgeon in the States coordinated my medical care with physicians in Jo�berg. They seemed quite amenable to this.

9. My insurance company wanted me to have all six operations and skin grafts while in Africa because it was cheaper. You might have to insist on the degree of medical care you desire. I insisted on going home after the first three operations.

10. When you go to �theatre� (operating room) be sure to discuss the effects of anesthesia in combination with malaria medication.

It never hurts to be prepared. Medjet would also be a great option for DG hunters.

Ski+3

FYI, the Milpark Hospital is probably the best in southern africa.

Milpark Hospital #924
9 Guild Road
Parktown
(Johannesburg) 2193
South Africa

The Atchesons are a fine family and they will have our prayers for a speedy recovery...

Hunting Dangerous game is just that, and it can happen to any of us at any time and it does every year..It concerns me when some take the stance that it seldom happens or its overplayed, which is not the truth, in reality it is under played IMO...

I have no fear of dangerous game, but I certainly have a healthy respect for them...Same with the human being when hunted.

I guess she had an exciting view of a buffalo up close ...

I hope she makes a full and speedy recovery.

I don't know nikki, but can sympathise with her situation. I hope she recovers soon and well.

cheers,TM

We just heard from Keith with an update on Niki's condition.

He said, "Her injuries are extensive with broken arm, collar bone and internal bruises but more importantly is the massive wound she recieved when the buffalo gored her in her right leg upper thigh in the back part.

The doctor here says that as long as she does not get an infection she will probably have near full recovery after reconstructive surgery. Her wound was full of dirt, etc.....and has been irrigated upon entry and will be done again on Thursday and again on Saturday. If all this goes well and no infection sets in they will close it. We will be here for at least ten more days until we can travel so lots of uncertainty right now."

"The good news is that she survived the most horrifying event I've ever seen and should recover. Please say a prayer for her over the next few days as this infection time passes."

Keith is aware of this thread on AR.com and thanks everyone for their concern and best wishes.

Please keep Niki and Keith in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

Mark,

Thank you for and update...and all of us here are pulling for Niki's speedy and full recovery...
Also a prayer to her family....

Mike

All,



I spoke with Keith for about 20 minutes this AM. Mark's status of Niki is accurate. She is not out of the woods but things are looking better. The gouge wound was bad enough that any worse and she would have lost the leg.



I echo the comments about thoughts and prayers for both of them...Keith was right in the middle of it and Keith actually ended the buff's attack. He still seemed a little shook up.



I let Keith tell the story when he is ready but to suffice it to say...the guy has "two big brass ones".



Mike

To both Niki and Keith,
I know you have lived through a terrible ordeal, and my thoughts and prayers are with you both.

Anyone: Is there anything we can do, maybe send medicine that she can't get there or something? I'm sure members of AR will do anything we can to help. Prayer is the only thing I know of for sure right now.
Gary T.

RSA has some of the best trauma doctors in the world. They get a lot of practice. She should not need anything too exotic in the way of antibiotics unless she picks up a resistant bug in the hospital. Careful early wound cleaning with lots of sterile saline and a meticulous debridement of any dead tissue and all foreign materiel gives the best result. Not very glamorous or high tech, but that's what gets the job done. (That and having an up to date tetanus immunization.) Most of the reconstructive procedures can wait until she is back home.
All the above, and prayer.
JCN

Keith must be beside himself. I hope for a full recovery for his wife, Niki.

I wish Niki a speedy recovery. May her wounds heal quickly and with as little scarring as possible. My blessings to her and her family.



Mike,



I bet if your wife was being gorred by a cape buffalo, you would also have two big brass ones as well (and a magazine full of brass ones too). If someone I loved was in danger, I'd use all the firepower I've got to protect them. I'm sure this is exactly what Keith did.



Sevens

I had the opportunity to hunt a bit with Keith a few years back. He is a pretty cool charachter in addition to being a lot of fun. My best wishes and prayers for Niki's full and speedy recovery are on the way. On the bright side, what a hell of a story she'll have to tell her grandchildren.

Jeff

Like the rest of you, I'll pray for her rapid recovery. This is a reminder of why Buffalo are called dangerous game. Nikki is one brave lady to follow up a wounded Buff in high grass.

Here is another update from Keith on Niki's condition:



"I have good news. Yesterday she had the wound cleaned out and inspected and the plastic surgeon was so pleased with what he saw that he went ahead and closed it. It wasn't supposed to be done until Saturday so the progress seems better than first predictions."



"Her collar bone is really giving her fits but her arm swelling after the surgery has gone way down and she can now reach her face with both hands. We washed and washed and washed her hair and removed lots of grass, dirt, ticks, etc..... and combed her hair and the nurses put a ribbon in her hair. She looks much better in all ways than on Monday morning!"



"She also asked for her make-up kit which I luckily grabbed in haste on departure from Zimbabwe. A GOOD SIGN!"



"Unfortunetely she is going to require a skin graft next week from what was lost which by the way is way less than what was originally thought as well. I'd say a 4" x 4" patch. This doctor insists that it be done soon to promote the healing and get this thing closed so that the trip home will be of less danger. We are not out of the woods yet so lets all keep asking God for his help."



"Again, thank you so much for all your support. It is saving us. Keith & Niki Atcheson"



To use one of Niki's favorite phrases, "Happy Days!"



It appears that her condition is steadily improving and she should be on her way home in a week or so. Keith has some reinforcements now to help him with more on the way.



As he requested, please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as she still has a long way to go. But it's a great relief to hear that things are going better than expected so far!



Please take a minute to send Niki a short note of encouragement or a Get Well card. I know it will mean a great deal to both Niki and Keith to know how many people were pulling for them during this ordeal.



Nicole Atcheson

Jack Atcheson & Sons, Inc.

3210 Ottawa Street

Butte, MT 59701

I am so sorry to hear about the accident to Nicole. God speed her recovery !!!

Richard Powell
Canada/Namibia

Here is the most recent update from Keith:

"Today was another big day of improvement as Niki moved out of ICU and into a nice quiet private room and words cannot describe how much better the surroundings are. She actually got up today and with assistance from a nurse and I, put weight on her leg and hobbled to the bathroom! She also ate more today than the last 5 days."

"I'll know more on Monday when the doctor shows again. One thing I'm concerned about is that they quit giving anti-biotics since the wound is closed as they say the bodies defenses work better. Anybody out there know any qualified doctors with an opinion on this? I'm so worried about infection. No fever. Will write on Sunday. Keith"

It sounds like somebody(ies) did a good job of early wound care. I have taken care of several people that have been stomped and or hooked by cattle, horses, and even a moose when I worked in Alaska. The bad bug in and around bovine shit is clostridium tetani. That is why tetanus immunizations are so important.
The idea behind copius wound irrigation with lots and lots of sterile saline and meticulous debridement of devitalized (dead) tissue and foriegn material (mud, shit, twigs, thorns, etc.) is to get the bacteria count down below 10,000 per cubic centimeter of flesh. Below that threshold the body can usually fight off infections absent a truly exotic or ambitious microbe.
Infections usually show up in twenty four to seventy two hours. If she is now 130+ hours out, and the surgeons have felt confident enough to close the wound, that is a very heartening sign. They have most likely placed drains in the wound bed. Once those are pulled you can breathe that big sigh of relief.
The two types of wounds that have really given me gray hairs over the years have been cat bites and bowels that have been perforated by gunshot, knife, horn, etc. Cats have eikenella corrodens and pasturella multocida on their teeth. Both are rather nasty. When your bowels get opened up you are also obviously in way serious trouble.
One of the most important predictors of outcome is a given person's spirit and fight. This young lady sounds like she has bushels of both. That will help a lot.
She is not completely in the clear yet, but a humble tip of my hat to the excellent team that has and is caring for her.
JCN

PS Wound care is always a balancing act. You don't want to close one that is likely to get infected, but you want to close an uninfected wound as quickly as possible to keep it from getting infected. I personally would like a crystal ball to tell me always which way to go.
JCN

In an email today Keith reports that Niki continues to improve. He was even able to take her outside briefly in a wheelchair to get some fresh air!

It has only been 1 week today since the buffalo gored her, and the doctors have already moved her out of ICU and closed her wound!

Although her progress has been remarkable, she still needs more time to regain her strength before attempting the long flight home. Keith thinks it may be another week or two before they try to travel.

As always, he thanks everyone for their continued support!