Trek fall turns Spaniard’s trip into a journey she’ll never forget

Mangaluru: When Marta Martin Islas picked up her bags for a solo trip in January, she was hoping to explore ‘incredible India’ — the hills, the beaches, the monuments, hiking and yoga. It turned out to be a discovery of India, said the 24-year-old dancer from Spain, as she fell off a cliff during trekking and spent three months in hospital here, surrounded by the friends she made on her journey even as the pandemic wrought havoc worldwide.
Marta is set to fly back home with her mother, Diana Norris, from Bengaluru late Thursday — finally back on her feet and fit enough to travel. The psychology post-graduate is eager to get back to her life after the 14-day quarantine on return. “We hope to come back to India and spend Christmas in Gokarna, thanking all the doctors and hospital staff,” said Marta. She is also penning down her experiences in India.
“Marta was always smiling. Covid did not allow her to leave the country,” said Dr M Shantaram Shetty, chairman of Tejasvini Hospital and Shantharam Shetty Institute of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (SSIOT), where she underwent surgery and rehabilitation.
Marta arrived in India on January 9, on the back of a tour of Australia. She landed in Kolkata and over the next month and a half, did the tourist circuit in north India, spent some time in Goa and headed for Gokarna in Uttara Kannada district. “On February 25, I met Sukesh from Bengaluru at a beach in Gokarna. We accidentally bumped into each other again at dinner, where we exchanged numbers. The next day, I decided to go hiking between Half Moon Beach and Om Beach,” she said.
On February 26, she lost her way during the hike. “Even as I was figuring out my way back, I slipped near the edge of a cliff and fell 6-7 metres. I landed on rocks, next to the sea. I was conscious but I could not move my left foot while the right one was dangling. I realised that I had injured my back too,” she recalled.
“The emergency numbers for police and ambulance were not connecting. I remembered Sukesh and tried to call him but he did not pick my calls. I then called a friend from the Czech Republic whom I had met in Rajasthan and requested her to arrange for an ambulance. I spent almost an hour frantically trying to get help. Then Sukesh got back and he and a friend of his from UK, Robert, decided to reach me in a tourist boat,” said Marta. “They found me after almost 90 minutes. Sukesh and Robert had met two more guys — Mark from UK who was on an inflatable kayak and Eden from Israel. It was not an easy rescue. With the help of local fishermen, they lifted me onto the kayak, walked amidst the rocks and swam holding the kayak to reach Half Moon Beach. I was then shifted to the boat and on reaching the shore, got into an ambulance and visited a few clinics.”
It was Mark who realised the situation was grave and called up Nirmala Jain, a pharmacist. Mark had met Nirmala and her husband Suveer in Gokarna. She suggested Tejasvini Hospital and by 9pm they were at the hospital. Nirmala too landed up and signed as Marta’s guardian. “Surgeries were conducted and the next morning I woke up to find myself in the ICU, with Nirmala feeding me breakfast. I then called up my Mom,” said Marta.
Diana, a dermatologist in the Spanish city of Las Palmas, was eating breakfast when he got her daughter’s call. “Mark and Sukesh spoke to me and said it would be good if I travelled to India as my daughter needs someone to be with her. I flew down on February 29. Mark and Sukesh received me at the airport and we came straight to the hospital,” said Diana. “On March 3, Marta underwent a major surgery for her spine, ankles and wrist. Skin grafting was also done. For a month she could not put weight on her foot. Nirmala and her husband, her brother Nelson and his wife Veena were always there to help us. Senior orthopaedic resident Dr Piyush Vaghasiya, Dr Shrinivas and hospital staff were also very supportive and helped us through the recuperation. Mark and Sukesh stayed for almost two weeks before returning.”
“She had an open fracture, dislocation on the right ankle and needed plastic surgery, in addition to the orthopaedic procedure for the bone,” said Dr M Ajith Kumar, MD of Tejasvini Hospital and SSIOT. “In the left foot, she had multiple fractures including in the toes, and a fracture dislocation in the left wrist. She had a spinal surgery and rehabilitation took a while.”
“Had Marta left earlier, she would have had to go in a wheelchair,” said Dr Shetty. “She is back on her feet now.”