Page 13 - Issue 69 Online

MANEA MATTERS
MANEA MATTERS

Justin was using his part in
the expedition to support
Magpas Air Ambulance
(who often attend medical
emergencies in Manea),
so, from the frozen Arctic
Ocean, he called the
Magpas office to ask for
advice.

Justin stood, thousands
of miles from anywhere
and stripped to the waist
(apparently it was only
minus 27 degrees) as Dr
Rod Mackenzie questioned Cambridge and it was found that he had indeed
him about the dynamics of the injury. Passing split the centre-line of his abdominal wall from
the phone to his expedition partner, Dr his chest down.
Mackenzie guided him through a telephone- “If I hadn’t spoken With Dr Mackenzie that day
directed examination. I quite probably would have delayed my return,

He pressed his hand against Justin’s torso: and that delay could have cost me my life.”
“There’s no structure to your abs, mate - it feels As he was released from hospital, the surgeon
hollow - and it feels like your insides are coming warned, "Don’t train for a few months, and don’t
out.” take on any major challenges for at least a year.
The Magpas doctor was quick to diagnose a Give yourself time to heal."
catastrophic hernia, his instructions being, “Get Five months after surgery Justin was back in
off the ice - get evacuated now - or you could the Arctic, this time for a ‘world first’ stand up
die.” paddle board expedition.
“To call in a rescue would have meant putting
someone else’s life in danger, and I wasn’t Justin Miles
prepared to do that. I lay back on the ice,
manipulated my insides back through the gap in You can find out more about
my abs, made a tight ‘corset’ out of duct-tape Magpas, the work they do,
and then walked back to Greenland where I and how you can support
could be evacuated safely,” was Justin’s selfless them by visiting their website
and very high-risk decision. magpas.org.uk

When Justin returned back to the UK he
underwent surgery at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in

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DEADLINE for Issue 70 – Friday 20 August 2021 PAGE 13
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