A British tourist had to have a swordfish’s bill surgically removed from his neck after getting stabbed by the animal during a snorkeling trip to Nusa Lembongan, a small island off the southeast coast of mainland Bali.
The ‘stabbing’ apparently happened awhile ago, because since taking the fish’s ‘sword’ to his neck, Alan Pope, 57, is said to have made a full recovery, even getting a commemorative swordfish tat on his arm as a little souvenir.
Pope’s scary swordfish story, complete with photos chronicling his CT scan to him lying in a hospital bed, post-op, and a shot of the bloody bill, was only just now shared by The Sun, a British tabloid over the weekend.
Finding it a bit odd that a story as insane as a guy taking a swordfish’s spear to the neck didn’t hit local headlines back whenever it initially happened, Coconuts Bali has contacted Alan Pope for confirmation and further comment.
The only timeline we get from coverage about the Briton’s freak accident was mention of Pope and his wife coming to Bali in October 2016 as a part of their post-retirement bid to travel the world.
At some point during their time in Bali, the couple took a trip to Nusa Lembongan, located in Bali Province’s Klungkung Regency, to go snorkeling. While sitting on the boat, the Briton suddenly felt something in his throat, according to The Sun.
“We hired a little wooden private charter boat to take us out – it was just myself, my wife and the man in charge of the boat.
“The water was quite choppy, but we got about half an hour out to sea when I felt this whack on the side of my head – it knocked me off my feet.
“I wasn’t sure what had happened, and then I felt this tickling in the back of my throat,” The Sun quoted Pope as saying.
After getting knocked down, Pope started coughing up blood, says his wife Sharon.
There was six inches of the swordfish’s bill stuck in Pope’s neck, that had broken off when the fish jumped.
Neither Pope, his wife, nor the boatman saw any sign of the fish, says the Briton.
The boat trip to harbor in Nusa Lembongan was a painful 30 minutes. Once ashore, the boatman dropped them off, pointing the couple in the direction of the nearest clinic, but ran off from there, says Pope.
The village clinic cut off the top half of the broken bill from the side of the Briton’s neck, but wouldn’t fully remove it, since it was deep in and so close to the man’s jugular.
“Taking out that half of the beak was actually the worst thing they could have done – they should have left it in,” Pope said.
Pope was sent to Bali, to the mainland, to a “proper hospital” to get the rest of the bill removed.
“So we rushed back to our hotel, threw everything in a bag and then had to get a boat back to the mainland – all while I had a swordfish beak stuck in my throat.”
Once in Bali, Pope went to two different hospitals. The first hospital confirmed the bill’s location near his throat with an x-ray, but then he was sent another 40 minutes away to another hospital for a CT scan.
“The doctors were concerned about safely getting the beak out,” Pope said.
“It was so close to my jugular – it was right in the middle of a fork between two main arteries – so they weren’t sure how to do it safely.”
Not to mention the whole issue of insurance. The Briton said that because of the time difference he had problems getting in touch with his insurance company to prove to Bali hospital staff that he had insurance. In Bali, medical services are often refused unless bills are paid outright or proof of insurance is provided.
Finally, 36 hours after the swordfish first stabbed Pope, and following a three-hour operation, the bill was safely removed from the man’s neck.
About a week later after recovering enough to fly, he and his wife continued their journey on to Australia for further travels.
The unidentified hospital in Bali apparently got Pope back to tip-top shape.
“They were fantastic. A week later you never would have known it had even happened.
“Alan is a very lucky man,” Sharon was quoted as saying.
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