Nick Tribe recalls a mercy mission in Malaysia

Apart from pumping blood into her, the hospital staff in Mersing, Malaysia, said they could do nothing more for her. I'd have to pay for an ambulance to take us to Johor Bahru for treatment. They told me they didn't buy blood from Thailand, so there was less risk of HIV.

We'd been snorkelling on Tioman island when my friend Sarah was hit by a speedboat. The impact had shattered her pelvis and then the propeller had cut her open. Miraculously, no major arteries were severed, but the wound was enormous and life-threatening - you could see her ribs and her bowels. A nurse sat with us in the ambulance for the three-hour journey, her only role to change the endless bags of blood as each one emptied. The road was awful, winding and very bumpy - agony for Sarah. I told terrible jokes and talked utter rubbish, terrified what would happen if she lost consciousness. She knew what I was doing and played along.

We arrived at the hospital and as I stepped out of the ambulance I saw I was covered with Sarah's blood.

That was 12 years ago. ...
