THERE was one thing in particular that jumped out at me while reading about Pastor Connie Hallowell’s spearfishing experience, where he was accidentally shot through the face.
(For the record, he did not actually shoot himself, the gun went off when a wave knocked it against the reef. He did not have it on him.)
ALSO READ : My Take: Monkey business just rubbish
Well, two things actually.
The first is that as a pastor, he will know Jesus’ call to the disciples (Peter and Andrew), that He would make them ‘fishers of men’.
Pastor Connie probably never thought he’d become the ‘fish’, as teasingly pointed out by some of his friends.
There’s one thing getting a hook stuck in your finger, but getting shot by a spear through the face is taking it to a whole new level.
They’re laughing now, seeing the funny side, grateful that the spear is out and he is on the road to recovery.
But what about the man who performed the operation?
When I saw his name, I recognised it immediately: Dr Ciaran Lalor, a maxillo-facial and oral surgeon.
Others who have had dental procedures may recognise it, too.
He plucked out a troublesome wisdom tooth of mine about 15 months ago.
In a recent report in the Sunday Tribune, he described removing the spear as ‘fairly easy’.
I would loved to have known that before having to go for the wisdom tooth extraction.
In all honesty, it probably wouldn’t have done much to calm the nerves – the anaesthetic did that trick.
But he did seem to be a man of immense calm and confidence.
“Pass the drill, please,” he quietly asked the assistant.
Oh great. I just closed my eyes and hoped it would be over soon.
It was. I was (almost) disappointed it was over so quickly.
He has successfully extracted hundreds of teeth, but how often has he had to take a spear out of someone’s face?
You can only but have the greatest respect for people able to do this kind of work.
And Connie won’t be the only one with a great story to tell over dinner!
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
To receive our FREE email newsletter, click HERE
