News Archive

The following is an article by Ingrid Remke, marathon runner and participant

in the 29th real,- BERLIN MARATHON on September 29, 2002. Fourteen days later

she was a victim of the bomb attack in Bali—and luckily survived, though

with severe injuries.

She is making a call to the “Running Family“ to help support

the Balinese and Indonesian victims of the bombing. Read the moving story of

her suffering and how she won the fight for survival—and found new

strength to go on through running. Please support this call for donations and

demonstrate your solidarity with the victims, who need all the help they can

get (account info at the end of the articles).

On the evening of October12, 2002, I was out with my three friends and

numerous other Bali vacationers at the Sari Club, when at 11:07 a bomb went of

that turned the whole club to rubble and ashes, cost 202 people their lives,

and severely injured twice as many. I myself fled with now- unfathomable

strength from the burning building, was assisted by a woman from Holland and

driven to the next clinic by motorcycle, and then taken to Denpassar to the

Shaglah Hospital in an ambulance with several other injured people.

My three girlfriends did not survive the attack. I had an emergency

operation on an open fractured collarbone and then waited until the next

evening for an Australian military transport to Darwin. The treatment was poor

and not sterile.

In Darwin, the doctors decided that I was too severely injured to be cared

for there, and I was then transported with the next military airplane to

Sydney. Four days after the attack, I was operated on in Sydney, lay 2 days in

intensive care, and then fought to survive a week long against the

multi-resistant bacteria, with a high fever (40-41 degrees). 35 % of my skin

was burned and had to be transplanted; due to the bacteria, the transplants in

part did not grow together, and I had to be operated on 4 times in Sydney

alone. Both eardrums had burst, my face was broken, and I had a large wound on

the back of my head. I could no longer walk, eat on my own, and I lost 10

kilograms. After 6 weeks, I was able to be transported and was flown to

Germany. There I spent 4 weeks in a hospital in Marzahn (in isolation, due to

the bacteria), and was operated on 2 more times. I was able to leave the

hospital in mid-December, but was not able to take care of myself. My parents

cared for me, and shortly before Christmas, with all my will power, I was able

to stand on a treadmill for the first time—first for 3 minutes, then 5,

then 20. In mid-January I had to return to the hospital for corrective surgery

to improve my mobility—again in isolation due to the bacteria. I was

released from the hospital into a rehabilitation clinic in Bad Klosterlausnitz.

When after 10 days the bacteria MRSA were again found, I had to leave, as I

would not have been able to psychologically handle the isolation one more time.

I was cared for successfully 6 weeks at home by my parents, and was then able

to continue the rehab bacteria free. At that time I ran my first full 5 km

again.

I was able to convince the doctors in the rehab clinic that running was good

for me, and I got permission to train for the 25km race in Berlin, which I ran

on May 4 in 2:28:00h. I was very proud and happy. After confronting the woman

who rescued me, I had a psychological collapse. I was submitted to the hospital

with post-traumatic stress symptoms. I was not able to train for 4 weeks, was

looking for a suitable therapist, and have been receiving psychological care

since June. I am receiving physical therapy and scar massage parallel to the

psychological treatment. Running obviously has aided my psychological

stabilisation, and for the past 2 months I have been preparing for the

marathon.

I ran the Braunschweig Half Marathon on Friday, September 5, with my

personal best time of 2:00:15h. I am dedicating the 30th real,- BERLIN MARATHON

on September 288, 2003 to the Balinese and Indonesian victims of the bombing in

the form of a call for donations. I will be sending my medal to the Concord

Hospital in Sydney as a thank you to the chief of staff of the burn injury

station, Dr. Maitz, and the nurses and caretakers who work there, who assured

me that I would not have survived had I not run the 29th BERLIN MARATHON (on

September 29, 2002) just 2 weeks before the attack and had had such good

endurance training.

Ingrid Remke

Donations:

Sparkasse – Account Number: 35 40 10 60 56 – Bank Number: 100 500

00

Memo: "Hilfe für Balinesische und Indonesische Bombenopfer"