358 Norma
AH enthusiast
I made this report on another discussion but thought I should start my own thread.
My greatest trophy came after my health went severely downhill! In 2018, I had to start dialysis and spent 4 years on the kidney transplant waiting list. I finally received "THE" call at work that a kidney was available for me. During the transplant, I received medication to killed my immune system to prevent rejection, and it turned out that I am allergic to that medication. While in the recovery room, my lungs filled with fluid, and my oxygen level fell to below 40%! My wife is a nurse practitioner and she realized what was happening to me and forcibly showed the doctor that I was in trouble! They intubated me and removed 500ml of fluid from my lungs. They removed the breathing tube and my lungs filled with fluid again. Once again, they intubated me and removed fluid from my lungs. Altogether, I was intubated 5 times and spent 5 days in a medically induced coma. My kidney doctor figured out I was having an allergic reaction to the medicine, and ordered the proper treatment. When they finally woke me up I had double pneumonia, after 10 days I was released from the hospital. During my recovery I was having shortness of breath and my heart would start racing for no reason. It turns out that at some point after the transplant while I was having the allergic reaction I had a heart attack that's was missed. To make a long story short I almost died several times during the transplant surgery and recovery.
During my recovery I decided life is to short not to live your dreams, so I decided I was going to Africa and kill a Cape Buffalo! For two years I save every penny I could get my hands on tp make my dream happen! In February of 2023 I noticed that Tsala Safaris was going to be in Bismarck ND to do a meet and greet. I contacted PH Brandon Van Zyl of Tsala Safaris and arrange a time to meet them. After talking to Brandon and Rouan Nel they advised me that they could provide what was looking for and would do everything thing they could to provide me with the best quality hunt that my health would allow.
Fast forward to June of 2024 PH Brandon Van Zyl guided me to my trophy of a lifetime. On day three after a missed shot on a Zebra, while we were returning to the lodge the trackers spotted two Buffalo one being noticeably bigger then the other, Brandon looked at the bull and immediately said, we have to shoot that Buffalo! He drove the truck up the road a few hundred yards and stopped, we then quietly stalked back to the two bulls. Brandon got me positioned for a shot, but I had no clear shooting lane. So we waited, i noticed there was a clear shooting lane, approximately 20 yd to the left of the Buffalo. I told Brandon that if the bull moved to left I would have a clear shot. The two bulls started to move to the opening, first the smaller bull moved through and then the large bull started to move towards the shooting lane. He stopped with just his head visible in the opening after what seemed like hours the bull started to move again and stepped fully into view. I told Brandon I had the shot, he said take it if I felt comfortable to do so. I tried my best to settle the cross hairs of my Leupold scope on his shoulder and squeezed the trigger of my Dakota 76 416 Remington magnum sending a hand loaded 400 grain Swift A-frame towards its target! The bull bucked hard when then bullet impacted and ran to the left, I lost sight of him while reloading. I ask Brandon where the bull was, and he replied that the bull was down. I then heard the tracker yell "the other bull is coming". Brandon grabbed me by the shirt and pulled me back towards the road, we quickly made our way back to the truck. It turns out the smaller bull had ran in our direction but was not charging us. Since we were close to the truck I retrieved my Chapuis Elon 470 nitro express, after we gave the bull time and I settled my self down we went to retrieve the bull. The bull was stone dead when we found him but Brandon had me put a insurance shot into him to be sure.
I could not believe how big he was and when I knelt down next to him, I began to have an emotional release, I cried for the bull and the lifetime I had dreamt of this moment. I never in my life thought I would ever be able to do this hunt and now I had accomplish my dream!
I would like to thank Brandon Van Zel of Tsala hunting safaris for making this happen, and my wife for the time she spent with me in my recovery and her support that helped make this trip happen. And finally my lord and savor Jesus Christ.
My greatest trophy came after my health went severely downhill! In 2018, I had to start dialysis and spent 4 years on the kidney transplant waiting list. I finally received "THE" call at work that a kidney was available for me. During the transplant, I received medication to killed my immune system to prevent rejection, and it turned out that I am allergic to that medication. While in the recovery room, my lungs filled with fluid, and my oxygen level fell to below 40%! My wife is a nurse practitioner and she realized what was happening to me and forcibly showed the doctor that I was in trouble! They intubated me and removed 500ml of fluid from my lungs. They removed the breathing tube and my lungs filled with fluid again. Once again, they intubated me and removed fluid from my lungs. Altogether, I was intubated 5 times and spent 5 days in a medically induced coma. My kidney doctor figured out I was having an allergic reaction to the medicine, and ordered the proper treatment. When they finally woke me up I had double pneumonia, after 10 days I was released from the hospital. During my recovery I was having shortness of breath and my heart would start racing for no reason. It turns out that at some point after the transplant while I was having the allergic reaction I had a heart attack that's was missed. To make a long story short I almost died several times during the transplant surgery and recovery.
During my recovery I decided life is to short not to live your dreams, so I decided I was going to Africa and kill a Cape Buffalo! For two years I save every penny I could get my hands on tp make my dream happen! In February of 2023 I noticed that Tsala Safaris was going to be in Bismarck ND to do a meet and greet. I contacted PH Brandon Van Zyl of Tsala Safaris and arrange a time to meet them. After talking to Brandon and Rouan Nel they advised me that they could provide what was looking for and would do everything thing they could to provide me with the best quality hunt that my health would allow.
Fast forward to June of 2024 PH Brandon Van Zyl guided me to my trophy of a lifetime. On day three after a missed shot on a Zebra, while we were returning to the lodge the trackers spotted two Buffalo one being noticeably bigger then the other, Brandon looked at the bull and immediately said, we have to shoot that Buffalo! He drove the truck up the road a few hundred yards and stopped, we then quietly stalked back to the two bulls. Brandon got me positioned for a shot, but I had no clear shooting lane. So we waited, i noticed there was a clear shooting lane, approximately 20 yd to the left of the Buffalo. I told Brandon that if the bull moved to left I would have a clear shot. The two bulls started to move to the opening, first the smaller bull moved through and then the large bull started to move towards the shooting lane. He stopped with just his head visible in the opening after what seemed like hours the bull started to move again and stepped fully into view. I told Brandon I had the shot, he said take it if I felt comfortable to do so. I tried my best to settle the cross hairs of my Leupold scope on his shoulder and squeezed the trigger of my Dakota 76 416 Remington magnum sending a hand loaded 400 grain Swift A-frame towards its target! The bull bucked hard when then bullet impacted and ran to the left, I lost sight of him while reloading. I ask Brandon where the bull was, and he replied that the bull was down. I then heard the tracker yell "the other bull is coming". Brandon grabbed me by the shirt and pulled me back towards the road, we quickly made our way back to the truck. It turns out the smaller bull had ran in our direction but was not charging us. Since we were close to the truck I retrieved my Chapuis Elon 470 nitro express, after we gave the bull time and I settled my self down we went to retrieve the bull. The bull was stone dead when we found him but Brandon had me put a insurance shot into him to be sure.
I could not believe how big he was and when I knelt down next to him, I began to have an emotional release, I cried for the bull and the lifetime I had dreamt of this moment. I never in my life thought I would ever be able to do this hunt and now I had accomplish my dream!
I would like to thank Brandon Van Zel of Tsala hunting safaris for making this happen, and my wife for the time she spent with me in my recovery and her support that helped make this trip happen. And finally my lord and savor Jesus Christ.
