In 1994, Alison Botha, was abducted near her home in South Africa

In 1994, Alison Botha was abducted near her home in South Africa. 

Frans du Toit and Theuns Kruger took her to a deserted area on the outskirts of town. There, they brutally raped her, disemboweled her, and slashed her throat so deeply that she was nearly decapitated.

As her attackers finally stepped back, Botha heard one of them say: “Do you think she’s dead?” “No one can survive that,” the other replied. The men then drive off. 

In total she suffered 30 stab wounds & 16 slashes to her neck. Somehow, she remained conscious.

Lying alone atop sand and broken glass, Botha wrote the name of her attackers in the sand. She then realised she might have a chance at survival. In the distance, she could see headlights streaking through the bushes. If she could just manage to get onto the road, someone might be able to help her.

While holding her nearly decapitated head onto her shoulders with one hand and keeping her intestines in with her other, she headed towards the road.

A young veterinary student named Tiaan Eilerd found Botha lying on the road, and then called emergency services.

One of her doctors said that he’d never seen such severe injuries in his 16 years of practicing medicine.

Luckily, she went on to make a full recovery and has since told her story in at least 35 countries.