The Ripper Rapists

In I Have Life, Alison describes a series of "miracles" which conspired to make her survival possible on that December night in 1994, when her life was changed irrevocably.

Alison managed to remain calm during her ordeal and she did not expend energy to try and fight them. Thus she had more physical resources later when she had to struggle to the road.

When du Toit began to strangle her, her bowels moved, thereby clearing her intestines. This is not an uncommon reaction to strangulation, but for Alison it prevented more serious damage during the stabbing and reduced the risk of infection dramatically.

Du Toit stabbed her more than 30 times in the abdominal area, and by his own admission, had wanted to destroy her reproductive organs. Still, he failed to seriously damage any of her vital organs and only nicked her uterus.

Had Kruger and du Toit not slashed her throat, Alison would indeed have died in that filthy clearing. But the slicing of her trachea allowed air to flow into her lungs, thereby kickstarting her breathing and leading her back to consciousness. Despite his crazed slashing, du Toit failed to sever her carotid arteries and missed her vocal cords.

Like everything else in his life, du Toit was a failure even at destruction.

Had they not thrown her shirt onto her back, Alison would have had a tremendous struggle to carry her intestines back to the road.

There was a full moon in the sky over Port Elizabeth, providing her with the necessary illumination to find her way to Marine Drive.

The night was warmer than usual, which prolonged the period she could survive being naked and exposed.

Tiaan Eilerd was a veterinary student, which meant he had some medical knowledge. He also possessed a composed presence and the perfect demeanor to help Alison to remain calm and awake and to continue fighting.

Dr Angelov was on call at the Provincial Hospital. He was a thoracic surgeon and capable of dealing with Alison's injuries.

On March 31, 2003, newspapers carried the happy revelation that Alison was pregnant. "Everyone is stunned and excited and awed and blessed," she was quoted by Independent On-Line. The pregnancy proceeded without complications, and on November 13, a perfect and healthy baby boy was delivered through caesarian  section.

Alison ends her book with these two sentences:

Choose to believe in miracles. I certainly do.

Author's Note: At the end of December 2004, I Have Life had not yet been published in the United States. Still, I highly recommend that you try to obtain and read this remarkable book.

Note: Dollar equivalencies calculated at $1 = R6.10. This doesn't yield a monetary value that is directly comparable, however.