The story of a 70-year-old sailor from Platanias Pelion, who was saved when he waded out of his flooded house, shocked doctors and nurses at Volos Hospital.

With tears in the eyes doctors and nurses, yesterday they said an emotional farewell to a 70-year-old sailor from Platanias, South Pelion. He was discharged and will return to his village. Not at his house because it was destroyed by the recent floods, but at a friend’s house, who will host him until he gets back on his feet.

His story moved all the staff at Volos Hospital from the first moment. The 70-year-old was taken to the Emergency Department with a high fever and great exhaustion, a few days after the unprecedented natural disaster that almost leveled the beautiful Platanias.

He and his brother lived in a house near the stream that runs through the area. The water at one point reached one and a half meters. He and his brother were trying to save themselves. They climbed on top of the wardrobes to be able to escape the rushing waters that entered the house. For almost 24 hours they remained in the water, exhausted, without electricity, waiting for someone to rescue them.

“For the first time I thought, doctor, that after so many years as a sailor, I will drown on land. What we experienced is unimaginable. It’s indescribable,” he said, recounting to the doctors the nightmarish moments he experienced and how he and his brother were finally saved and did not drown.

When they saw that now that the water level was rising even more they decided to risk it and go out. How; “We went out with long legs. Luckily we know a good bathroom. We gathered all the strength we had and decided to risk it. Fortunately, God helped us,” he told the doctors.

For the 70-year-old sailor, this was the first part of the nightmare he experienced. Exhausted as he was, he stayed with his brother in a friends house. But he started to develop a high fever. At first he thought he had a cold. After all, it stayed in the water for more than 24 hours. He went to the Argalasti Health Center and from there to the Volos Hospital. As soon as the emergency room doctors examined him, they ordered an admission. The fever would not go down and he needed to be treated. The next day he was also diagnosed with coronavirus, and naturally he was transferred to a unit set up for those suffering from Covid-19.

After several days of isolation until he could recover, the only people he saw every day were the doctors on call and the nurses on duty. Everyone loved him because despite all the suffering he suffered he never lost his courage. What will definitely take time to overcome are the memories of those two fateful days, when he almost lost his life along with his brother.

These wounds will take time to heal.

Yesterday, when it was announced to him that he will be discharged, he was excited. The doctors and nurses offered to help him because his house is unlivable. “I don’t need anything. Thank you for all. I will be hosted by some friends. Don’t worry,” he said with a simplicity and enslaved them all.