Australian cabaret star Hans is still preparing to fly to London for “very delicate” surgery within days, his manager has said, after the performer was injured on a cruise ship last week.
The entertainer (pictured), whose real name is Matt Gilbertson, was performing on a cruise ship when he fell from the stage into an orchestra pit.
Manager David Wilson has given an update on the performer, who shattered his foot and ankle and suffered as many as five spinal fractures after the four metre-high plunge.
Wilson told ABC Radio Adelaide on Monday that Hans is still in hospital in Turkey, and expects to travel within days.
“What we’re trying to do is get him airlifted by air ambulance out of Turkey to London, where he can get the proper care and surgery that he’s going to need,” he said.
“It’s a very delicate operation, a very complicated kind of operation.
“The injuries he sustained that we know of at the moment [is] that it’s a shattered foot and ankle and a number – possibly five – of fractures to the spine.”
Wilson said it was a complicated process to arrange for the transfer, requiring the cooperation of medical authorities and travel insurance companies.
“The attending doctor in Turkey needs to sign off that he’s fit to fly and there won’t be any complications while he’s in a jet for a number of hours while at altitude,” he said.
“And the receiving doctor needs to sign off and confirm that he will accept the patient on arrival and put him straight into care there.”
Hans will spend weeks recovering from surgery in London
Hans’ manager David Wilson said at this stage, the performer will fly to London on Wednesday morning and go directly to a private hospital.
“They’ve already identified which surgeon will take care of him. He’s very senior and highly respected and for that, we are so grateful,” Wilson said.
“We could arrange to have the surgery done in Turkey, even if he was to transfer maybe to Istanbul.
“But the downside to that is obviously post-op, you need to stay where you are for a period of weeks for recovery and recoup. Flying would not be an option.
“That means he would be basically alone for that period of recovery time in a city where he has no support and in a city where English is not the first language.”
But in London, Wilson said the cabaret performer had a network of friends who can support him.
Wilson explained a cruise ship deckhand had stayed by Hans’ side as an interpreter for several days after the accident.
Hans also happened to be travelling with a companion who is an Associate Professor of Medicine, which has been “incredibly helpful”, Wilson explained.
The performer’s manager said he has also communicated with him regularly.
“He still makes me laugh, and and sometimes in the calls we have the laughs are more free flowing than others,” he said.
“I can tell by the tone of voice, there are some phone calls where he’s speaking through pain and it’s very ‘straighty one-eighty’.”
“Other times [he’s] a bit more playful, when he’s maybe just been freshly medicated and he’s a little bit more relaxed and comfortable.”
Performer revealed cruise ship accident on social media
Hans first addressed the accident himself on social media at the weekend.
The performer said at the time he would require surgery but his injuries “could have been much, much worse”.
Hans has cancelled a spot at the Broken Heel Festival in Australia. He said future shows are “currently on stand-by until we have more of an idea of my recovery plan”.
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Well wishes for a speedy recovery to see you back in Australia very soon Love Judy xx