SA surgeon saved BBC journalist

Frank Gardener (43), a BBC specialist reporter on security, was shot and paralysed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in June 2004. His cameraman, Simon Cumbers, died when militants opened fire on them. Gardener recently returned to work after 8 months in hospital. He credits a team of surgeons led by a South African doctor with saving his life. After the attack, he was taken by police to hospital where he was operated on but nearly died. A week later, a team of top doctors from King Faisal Hospital were sent to see him. They were led by Dr. Peter Bautz, a South African and former trauma surgeon at Groote Schuur Hospital, performed nine operations on Gardener. Bautz and his family moved to Saudi Arabia in 1999.