If you’re finding today tough, this could help to put things into perspective.

On January 6, 2018, Peter Knottenbelt was in the Olifants River with his granddaughter when his life changed forever: the former University of Johannesburg mining department lecturer accidentally stood on the back of a crocodile.

Knottenbelt told TimesLIVE that in the “half a second or quarter of a second” when he realised what he had done, it turned around, grabbed his leg and crushed the lower bones.

His next memory is the crocodile “adjusting its grip and smashing the bones again, and me being thrown around from one side and another”.

Terrifying stuff, and not for the faint of heart.

Knottenbelt lost his leg but kept his life, despite being thrown into the water and carried downstream. He managed to push his fingers into the eyes of the crocodile, which then released him.

He was rescued but suffered severe injuries including:

• A broken sternum which was compressed into his heart;
• Six broken ribs, two of them in two places;
• Punctured lungs from the broken ribs;
• A dislocated collarbone;
• A broken scapula; and
• A “whole pile” of, not just lacerations, but puncture wounds that penetrated his chest.

He also broke both wrists. The above laundry list of injuries would be enough to put most people out of action, but just one year later, Peter was swimming the famous Midmar Mile.

“On the day I finished Midmar a year ago, I was in ICU fighting for my life. As I decided I cannot just let myself stagnate, I decided to re-learn how to swim, re-learn how to work some of the machines at gym, and slowly got my strength back.

“Midmar was really my proof to myself that I’ve fought the thing; the crocodile, the medical problems I faced, and that I’ve brought myself back to reasonable level of fitness.

“Life was never the same again, but as best as I can, I have returned to some level of normality.”

Peter Knottenbelt, aged 72, crossed the finish line at the Midmar Mile nearly 53 minutes after he started.

See? That report you need to get done, or those emails piling up, doesn’t seem like that much of a challenge anymore, does it?

Inspiring stuff.

[source:timeslive]