Ollie Dousset, from Sydney, was injured in Bali. Photo / GoFundMe
Ollie Dousset, from Sydney, was injured in Bali. Photo / GoFundMe
Ollie Dousset was thrilled to be visiting Bali for a dream surfing holiday last month. Instead, he is lucky to be alive after being involved in a horror accident that resulted in him losing a leg.
The 26-year-old from Sydney's northern beaches had been travelling on the back of ascooter as he headed back to his accommodation in Uluwatu on August 11, when he was tragically run over by a cement truck as it attempted to overtake them.
He instantly knew it would be a tough fight for survival.
"We essentially went underneath the rear axle of the truck," Dousset told Perth Now of the accident. "The next minute I am on the ground and all I can think about is standing up.
"I stood up and I saw my calf muscle was on the ground next to my leg and I just kind of scooped up my leg into my hands and put it back together. I remember thinking I just have to get to hospital, I have to get to hospital right now."
After using shoelaces as tourniquets to ease the bleeding, a taxi driver took him to hospital. It took more than 30 minutes to arrive, and during that time he elevated his legs around the headrest to try to stop the bleeding.
"Halfway through the taxi ride, all I wanted to do was pass out and go to sleep, but I knew if I did, I was going to die," he said.
Ollie is now recovering in hospital in Perth. Photo / Channel 7
Ollie received surgery the next day to pin his leg back together but unfortunately developed an infection 10 days later.
Then, an earthquake struck, forcing the doctors to flee.
"My bed rest was just going side from side and I thought, 'I can't believe it, this is it, I'm going to die here'," he said.
His parents then paid for an emergency flight to the Royal Perth Hospital, where he received devastating news.
"The doctors took one look at my leg and told me that they had to amputate, that was pretty hard to take," he said.
Ollie has undergone five operations and will remain in hospital for weeks. But friends, who have started a GoFundMe page to help assist Ollie, say he is in high spirits and "sees this as a challenge rather than something that might hold him back".
More than $57,000 has been raised to help cover $100,000 of medical bills and travel costs Ollie and his family have been hit with so far, and to assist him while he is unable to work.
