Jason Montgomery, the Australian shot at Safraz’s Bar and Restaurant in early January, has described the attack as the “most expensive beer” he has ever had.
Montgomery has broken his silence about the January 8 incident, when three gunmen invaded the Kitty, Georgetown bar, robbed patrons, and then opened fire wounding him, two other men and resulting in the death of waitress Kulmattie Singh. “Shot in the chest, left stranded by the Australian authorities, victim of a botched surgery (courtesy of the Guyana public health system) and still facing six months of convalescence (with more surgery)…,” the Gympie Times reported on Thursday. He also told the Australian newspaper that no matter what happens to him now, he can always say, “I’ve had worse.”
Montgomery explained that he lost 35 kilos in seven weeks and doctors have since estimated that he’ll fully recover in six months. “The British and Australian doctors are repairing the damage from the ones in Guyana,” he was quoted as saying.
Montgomery was catching up on cricket with the owner of the bar when the three armed robbers walked in and opened fire.
After the January 8 incident, Montgomery was admitted to the High Dependency Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH). He was released from GPH three days later on January 12.
The same day, Montgomery was admitted to a private hospital where he remained a patient in their Intensive Care Unit until he left the country in early February. However, he was taken off his London flight and rushed to a hospital there for immediate medical attention.
His mother, Sandy Brosnan, had said that he was being treated for pneumonia and a number of infections in the London hospital. She was reported as saying, “The air escort evacuation personnel got him on a commercial flight.
“He was supposed to come through to Australia after a rest in London.”
After spending several weeks in London, Montgomery was finally well enough to fly home. He was recently discharged from the Royal Brisbane Hospital in Australia.