DAVE Andersen is one of the only people in Australia known to have survived first, second and third degree burns to 90 per cent of his body.
While his recovery is a miracle in itself, the story of how this 40-year-old father of two did not become a statistic is equally as fascinating.
Right from the start, a string of people played a vital part in saving the Cannonvale man whose boat had caught fire en route to Long Island on Tuesday, April 7.
But for Mr Andersen, there are two particularly special people in that chain – Explore engineer Paul Alcock and Proserpine Hospital’s Dr Chris Gill.
It was Mr Alcock and his deckhand Rhys Bradford who diverted to the burning boat after seeing smoke, pulled Mr Andersen from the water, called 000 and got him to shore.
Thanks to that call, Dr Gill and his small rural generalist team had been notified and were properly prepared.
From the moment Mr Andersen arrived at the hospital, they swung into action, performing emergency procedures that would keep him alive – at least in the short-term.
Through Proserpine’s Telemedicine video link system, they were also able to “wheel” three specialists from Brisbane’s Royal Brisbane Burns Unit into the room, and advocate for a seemingly impossible outcome.
The mortality rate for a person with 90 per cent burns is incredibly high and there was no guarantee Mr Andersen would even survive the transfer to Brisbane but somehow Dr Gill believed.
“I think what was going for Dave was the fact he was young and fit, and just his sheer determination and will. He had got himself onto the stretcher and told the paramedics, ‘let’s go’,” he said.
It was Dr Gill’s persistence that resulted in Mr Andersen being airlifted to Brisbane that day, closely followed by his wife Simone and children Dan, then 8, and Alex, then 12.
Over the hours, days and weeks that followed, Mr Andersen continued to astound his doctors, beating all the odds and becoming an outpatient in just 12 weeks.
Six months on, his doctors suggested a short break from his rehabilitation regime and on Sunday he was able to meet with Mr Alcock and Dr Gill in Airlie Beach.
“All I wanted to do was say ‘thank you’ and I felt so humble. I mean how do you say thank you to someone who fought to save your life,” Mr Andersen said.
“If it wasn’t for Dr Chris I wouldn’t have made it, and Paul – Paul feels like he did what anyone else in the situation would have done, but to me he’s pretty bloody special.”
Mr Alcock described himself as “pretty blown away by it all” but thrilled and Dr Gill, who also enjoyed a surprise visit from the family at the hospital during the week, said “you just want to cry”.
“(But) I’m just stoked he’s got a second chance, that his kids have got a dad back, that his wife’s got a husband and the community’s rallied behind them,” he said.
Mr Andersen said he also wanted to thank the community of Airlie Beach.
“I want to thank them for rallying behind me, for the support the community’s given Simone and the boys and all the money raised, which is still going towards helping with my recovery,” he said.
The Andersens plan to return to Airlie in January 2016.