Shot, left for dead but lives to tell tale

Davey du Plessis, the South African adventurer who was shot while kayaking down the Amazon River in Peru on Saturday, is in a stable condition.

Writing on his blog, Worldwonderer.co.za, his mother, Robyn Spence Wolff, said Du Plessis, who was paddling when he was shot by two men, was recovering in a hospital in Lima, Peru.

Wolff said Du Plessis had bullets in his spine, face, neck, skull and arms.

Describing the incident, Wolff said Du Plessis, 24, himself cannot believe that he survived the shooting.

"He was shot at in his kayak. He fell out [but] could not move his arm. They shot at him again [as] he swam to get away.

"This boy then stayed in the water, thinking it's over, but an instinct made him run, he ran for about 5km.

"He had to drag his leg and his arms had lost all feeling. He found people on the other side of the river, he tried to call for help but no sound came out . he had been shot in the neck."

The people who spotted him first wanted money before they would to assist him. But when he started coughing up blood they realised he needed urgent medical attention.

"There is some shrapnel lodged in his heart, they are hoping that it is just the heart muscle, if not, they will have to operate on his heart.

"His lungs are improving and expanding now, the fluid is getting less.

"He is very hungry. He last ate on Saturday. He is in a lot of pain. It seems his body is covered with shrapnel [wounds] but all under control."

Du Plessis was born in Cape Town but grew up in KwaZulu-Natal. He planned to navigate the Amazon from source to sea by hiking, cycling and kyaking for about 6500km.