Man (91) survives bee attack
An elderly man is recovering in Entabeni Hospital after he and his caregiver were stung by a swarm of bees at a Musgrave home for the aged.
A 91-year-old man was rushed to hospital after he and his caregiver and a security guard at an old age home in Musgrave, were stung by a swarm of bees on Sunday afternoon.
According to Russel Meiring, ER24 spokesperson, paramedics as well as other services, arrived on scene and were ushered to the patients, who had sustained multiple bee stings all over their bodies.
“It is understood that the patients were sitting outside when they were apparently attacked by the swarm of bees,” he explained.
Paramedics treated the patients for their injuries and thereafter transported them to Entabeni Hospital.
Terry Sterling, general manger at the Garden Grove retirement complex told Berea Mail the wheelchair bound pensioner was in a “stable condition” but still in hospital. He said the swarm of bees had appeared very quickly. The carer was taking the elderly resident around the garden at the time the bees suddenly appeared and stung him.
“We are so thankful to the residents, staff, councillor Martin Meyer who was walking past and the gentleman whose father is a bee keeper for showing community spirit and coming to help save the gentleman’s life.
“One resident actually ran through the bees to open the secured gate to let in people to help. It shows the wonderful spirit and compassion of those around us. We are relieved that our resident received the quick medical assistance and is recovering,” he added.
Berea Mail discovered the swarm of bees had come across to the retirement complex from St Thomas Church.
Barney Barnard, a church warden at St Thomas, who was also stung nearly 30 times by the angry bees said the church had a problem with bees a few months ago. “We had a hive in the main church and near our flower room (where floral arrangements are made) but a few months ago we had a bee removal company take three hives away. We did not even know there were bees around until after church on Sunday when a parishioner, who is in construction, was taking a look at our blocked gutters,” Barnard explained.
Barnard said he was at the bottom of the ladder while the young parishioner was cleaning out the gutter trying to find the blockage when suddenly the bees got disturbed and came out the gutter. “There was thousands of them and the young parishioner was allergic so his wife brought out his medicine and rushed him to hospital. Our priest Mike Fourie was also stung. My wife rushed to the chemist across the road and brought back some antihistamines and we were ok after a while.”
Barnard, (82), recalled the helpless suffocating feeling of the horrifying attack. “It’s the second time I was attacked, the last was when I was still a teenager, I’d come from a tennis match and there was a children’s party and this swarm just attacked everybody, lucky there was a pool and we managed to get most of the children safely in the water. I was stung a lot then, spent two days in hospital.”
Barnard said there was panic and chaos for about 45 minutes as they tried to get away from the bees. “Only later did we realise the bees had gone over the wall and an elderly man was badly stung. We have made enquiries and are glad he is over the worst and recovering,” he added.
The church has since enlisted the help of a bee keeper to remove the hive.
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