Bize

While Rob’s 5-day stay in hospital about a week ago was painful to say the least, some good has come out of it. In the bed across from him was a very quiet islander man who would smile and nod to us as he came in and out of the room. And soon, as eventually happens in a hospital ward, he and Rob got together to compare injuries, scars and meds. So by the time I got back to the hospital that evening I too got to meet Bize (pronounced ‘busy’).

Bize comes from a small village in PNG and was admitted to hospital after being attacked by a wild pig. He sustained injuries on both arms and on one hand. But to get to hospital Bize had to first travel for 5 hours by dinghy to Boigu, an outer island of the Torres Strait, where he was given first aid in the medical centre. From Boigu he was air lifted to T.I. and when we met him he had been away from his family for 6 weeks.

What a beautiful, gentle, well spoken man – and extremely humble. Bize and his wife have 3 children, the eldest is at school and the family lives on $200 per fortnight. Both he and his wife – missus as he calls her – are pre-school teachers in their village. But any thoughts you may have of colourful rooms with posters and toys, and little tables and chairs can be discarded right now. In Bize’s world the children use slates to write, and pencils and paper are a luxury.

Rob being Rob - well, he had to do something. So one afternoon saw us in Ibis stocking up on pencils, plasticine, A4 notepads, spirax notebooks, scrap books and pens ….. and a backpack. That night we picked Bize up from the hospital and brought him to the unit for a drink (soft drink) and a cup of tea. And Rob, like a very happy Santa Claus, presented Bize with a little something to remember us by. We ended up spending about $100 (this is TI remember) on a few basic stationery items, but to Bize it meant the world.

Rob and Bize

Bize's stash

Bize paid us a lovely compliment later that night when we took him back to his ward. He asked to be remembered to our kids. You see we had made him feel like family, he told us, and he wanted us to tell our families about him so that they would know him too. He certainly was going to do the same.

He was discharged the next day. That would have meant a long, arduous journey home as he waited at Boigu island for a message to be sent to his village, then more days to wait for a boat to come and collect him. So to facilitate all of that Rob gave him an amount of cash so that he could hire a boat once in Boigu and get home sooner.

Rob thinks of him often. I don’t know if we’ll ever see him again but whatever happens, we will never forget him.

Sometimes, life can be memorable.