The man holding her hand was Tiaan Eilerd, a 20-year-old veterinary student. He had been heading back with his friends to their camping ground on the last night of their holiday. What he saw was blood, lots of thickish blood on the road, and a naked girl covered in dirt. He saw that her eyes were open, if swollen and bloodshot, and that she was looking at him with awareness. And then he saw the maw in her throat and "everything inside it, the veins, the muscles and the severed windpipe."

While a friend called an ambulance on his cellular phone, Tiaan checked her heart rate, which was quite weak, and her tongue, which was pale. Her skin was also cold and it was obvious that she had lost a lot of blood. There was something protruding from the gash and he pushed it back inside, after which he used his shirt to apply some pressure to the wound.

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Tiaan knew that it was crucial to keep her awake, for if she drifted off, she might never open her eyes again. So he talked to her, reminding her to breathe slowly.

His calm presence had the same effect on Alison, but she wanted him to know about her abdominal injury. He responded to her gestures and lifted the shirt.

What he saw jolted and horrified him. Although he did not show his reaction when he looked back at her face, he was now even more concerned that the ambulance was taking so long. At least another driver happened on the scene and brought a blanket, with which Tiaan covered her.

Meanwhile, he was continuing to talk to her. "You're going to be all right. Don't worry. You are not going to die on this road. I won't let you." He told her to squeeze his hand once for "yes" and twice for "no", and thus they managed to determine details about the attack.

Alison was getting increasingly tired, wanting to rest. But Tiaan kept her awake. At one point he told her that she had "the most beautiful green eyes" and she thanked him with "an amazing smile". It broke his heart that she was being so brave and the ambulance wasn't coming. More than an hour had already passed.

Still on he talked. Although she wanted to keep her eyes open for him, Alison would close them each time he looked away. He wouldn't let her get away with it, though, and reminded her constantly: "Don't close your eyes."

Finally, one hour and 45 minutes and four phone calls after he had first taken her hand in his, the ambulance arrived.

Tiaan got in with her, still holding her hand, still talking to her, all the way to the Casualty Unit of the Provincial Hospital. She was wheeled in and he told her that he would be waiting for her when she woke up after surgery.

Although the anesthetist, Dr. Comyn, voiced his concern that a specialist would be needed for Alison's injuries, the doctor on call, Dr. Volodia Angelov, stated that he was a thoracic surgeon and would be able to perform the operations.

Dr. Comyn put his hand on her head and said, "Don't worry now. We are going to take care of your breathing. When you wake up everything will be over. You can relax now."