Katharina Buczek
After playing a few rounds together, Charlie and his friend Cyrus hid together on the pool deck stairs. These stairs led down to the lagoon, which guests used to board boats.
“According to both their accounts, they sat on the middle step, their legs on the step below with their feet not hanging over the water,” Buhl recounted, “Both of them were aware crocodiles lived in the lagoon, but what none of us knew was that crocs can and will jump up out of the water to grab you and drag you in.”
All of a sudden, Charlie was no longer sitting next to Cyrus. A crocodile had grabbed him by the leg and pulled him under the water with no sign of relenting. Charlie tried to grab hold of the stairs and Cyrus grabbed Charlie’s arm. It was about thirty seconds until adults arrived to help.
The stairs where the two hid had a short metal railing, about three feet high, with a small gate. The gate was open, with no lock in sight regardless. The area also had no posted warning signs or lights.
“That night and the next day, the guests were furious,” Buhl said, “The following day, the pool was closed and Club Med’s management team- along with government officials- spent the day scanning the resort.” Following the incident, Club Med supposedly invested two hundred thousand dollars into securing the lagoon. Signs were also posted and a security guard was placed on the pool deck.
Since that night, Buhl and her son Charlie have weathered a terrifying recovery process. From the night Charlie entered the hospital, the doctors were unsure how much damage had been done. After Dr. Solis performed Charlie’s first surgery, he said, “I’m happy with how the surgery went, but there is still much we have to be concerned about.”
That night, Charlie received a blood transfusion after losing nearly half of his blood supply in the attack and subsequent surgery. Of the three main arteries in Charlie’s leg, one’s “branches” had been cut.
The others were miraculously intact. A flap of Charlie’s flesh was also re-attached, but there were concerns over recirculation and tissue survival. The most considerable concern, though, was the risk of a bacterial infection.
“It’s not if there is bacteria inside of Charlie, it’s what kind,” Buhl recalled what Dr. Solis had told her.
Every three days, surgical cleanings of the wound took place in order to minimize a bacterial infection. Charlie also underwent fifteen hyperbaric chamber treatments, where oxygen is infused into the body. The Buhl family spent nearly four weeks in Cancun as Dr. Solis continued to treat Charlie.
“It’s been over three months since the accident and we are now back in Philly. The last scab came off at twelve weeks, but the wound is still slightly chafing,” Buhl wrote, “He is now walking with an awkward gait, like he has a wooden leg, since he does not yet have full range of motion or strength.”
