Lithuanian man who had leg amputated on Franklin River rafting trip to return home

ABC NEWS (Australia)

It was the high stakes river rescue that made headlines around the world. Now the Lithuanian rafter who underwent a leg amputation to be freed from Tasmanian’s Franklin River, is leaving hospital and heading home.

Transcript

00:00A small smile after a huge ordeal.

00:06This is the man who lost his leg in a 20-hour rescue effort to save his life.

00:11The 65-year-old was embarking on a rafting trip on Tasmania's Franklin River last November

00:17when his left leg became trapped in a crevice.

00:21What followed was a harrowing night spent in cold, rushing water before a life-or-death

00:27decision was made to amputate the man's leg.

00:31The rescue, described as one of Tasmania's most complex medical evacuations, involved

00:37more than 30 specialists.

00:40Two months later, the man is headed home to Lithuania.

00:43But not before photographs with those who saved his life.

00:47A fist bump for Constable Tim Donovan, a chat with Ambulance Tasmania's Retrieval Coordinator

00:53Joe Kipax and paramedic Adam Marmian.

00:56And donning the cap of Ace Petrie, a swift water rescue technician with Surf Lifesaving

01:01Tasmania.

01:03The man declined interviews, but the Acting Secretary of Tasmania's Health Department

01:08said he had

01:09experienced a life-changing ordeal in a country far from his home and family, and that he'd

01:15made a steady recovery.

01:17The Lithuanian ambassador to Australia has thanked the emergency personnel who helped

01:21rescue the man, closing one chapter in his tough recovery.

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