She might be back home after her ordeal in Uganda, but Kathryne Fuller’s journey isn’t over, writes Matthew Savides.
|||Just moments after landing in her home town, Kathryne Fuller was rushed from the tarmac of at the King Shaka International Airport to hospital for treatment.
The right side of Fuller’s body has been paralysed since she took laced cocaine at a Ugandan hotel while on assignment with her boss, film producer Jeff Rice.
Rice died on the balcony of the room the two shared, and Fuller was found lying nearby, unable to move.
Fuller on Thursday pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and paid a one million shilling (R3 000) fine. A 20-year-old has been arrested for supplying the tainted drug.
After two weeks in limbo, unsure of when she would be coming home, Fuller finally arrived in Durban yesterday just after 1pm.
But instead of going through the terminal building, she was taken straight to a hospital. Apart from the paralysis, parts of her body were badly swollen from the flight and she was advised to get medical attention as soon as possible after landing.
Her father, Stuart Fuller, spent most of the flight massaging his daughter’s feet, trying to reduce the swelling.
He said the past two weeks had been an “emotional rollercoaster” – but he knows there is still a long way to go. He has been in Uganda since the day after the incident.
“The whole way home, I kissed and cuddled her and told her I would be there every step of the way.
“Kathryne has been very quiet. She’s not talking at all about what happened. I think she’s still embarrassed. She’s still daddy’s little girl, but what has happened has happened, and I’m not going to crucify her for what she did,” Fuller said.
It’s still unclear what has caused the paralysis. While the early indications are that she suffered a stroke, this could not be confirmed because the Kampala hospital she was being treated at does not have an MRI machine.
Only after several tests have been done will doctors know what steps to take.
Private investigator Brad Nathanson was with the Fullers when they came home. He was initially asked by Rice’s wife, Sally Blackman, to help bring her husband’s body home.
Nathanson said the delays and not knowing what was happening had taken its toll on Kathryne.
“We were very worried about her. She was clearly depressed and taking huge strain.
“She kept saying, ‘Am I ever leaving here?’ To be honest, until late in the week, I also wondered when we would be going home.
“But once we got closer, her spirits lifted. She’s happy to be home,” he said.
Up until Thursday, more than 10 days after the incident, Kathryne still hadn’t been charged and it was unclear if she would face any charges at all.
However, she still wasn’t being allowed home for the treatment she so badly needed.
Eventually, after meeting a lawyer late on Wednesday night, Nathanson and Stuart Fuller got the matter heard in court. They saw the lawyer at 10pm and left his offices after midnight. By 2pm Thursday, the matter was in court, Kathryne pleaded guilty, was fined and then released.
This paved the way for her to come home. But even then, given all the difficulties faced over the past fortnight, her father wasn’t sure.
“Even until this morning, I was unconvinced. Even after all the documents were stamped and everything was cleared, there was always that ‘are we, are we not?’ feeling. But, thankfully, everything went fine.
“The airport (in Uganda) wasn’t prepared, and we had to carry Kathryne up the stairs to her seat, but the flight was fine.
“The staff in Joburg were phenomenal. They were so helpful and everything went smoothly,” he said.
matthew.savides@inl.co.za - Sunday Tribune