THE teenage victim of a knife attack overheard paramedics tell police he was not going to survive as he was being taken to hospital in an ambulance.
Gino Del Testa, 19, lost four pints of blood and thought he was going to die after he was stabbed in the neck when his company’s Christmas party turned to horror.
He was with colleagues when the incident happened. Workmate Sebastian Biesek, 31, was struck by a passing car as he tried to flag down help. He died at the scene. Last night, Gino was back home with his family after making a remarkable recovery.
He was well enough to leave hospital on Christmas Eve, just four days after he had emergency surgery. He told the Press and Journal: “I can’t believe I’m still here.” He spent four hours in the operating theatre and doctors at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary said he would have died if the wound had been just one millimetre deeper.
“Everyone was having a good time at the Christmas party,” he said. “It was in the works canteen and we were all just having a few drinks. Everyone was in good spirits.
“When we got outside, I remember there were two people arguing. I said to them ‘calm down’ and that’s when it happened.”
“I just collapsed to the ground. A lot of people ran up to us and were trying to help. One man was trying to stop the blood pouring out from my neck.”
Gino was attacked outside the premises of Fraserburgh firm Gray and Adams in Maconochie Road. Because he was losing so much blood, he started slipping in and out of consciousness.
He said: “The only thing I really remember about being in the ambulance was when the paramedic said to the policeman ‘Aye, he’s not going to make it’.
“I passed out again at that point and, when I woke up next, it was Saturday morning. It was such a relief.”
Gino’s parents, Wendy and Steven, were at his bedside when he regained consciousness.
The teenager said: “On the Sunday I was out of intensive care. I was up and walking about and having a laugh with my friends.
“I know I’m really lucky to have pulled through. And it was great to be able to come home and have Christmas with the family.”
Gino, of Cairness, near Fraserburgh, said he had been walking with Polish-born father-of-one Sebastian moments before.
“He had been with the company for three months,” he said. “He was a great guy. I was just devastated when I was told what had happened.”
Mrs Del Testa, a beautician, said: “He lost four pints of blood and I’ve been told that nobody could survive losing any more than five pints.
“We came very close to losing him, so to have him home for Christmas was just the best thing ever.”
She said she went straight to Aberdeen when she received a call saying her eldest son had been stabbed, about an hour after the attack.
“It was a very long night,” she said. “At about 1.30am we were told that he could pull through.
“When he woke up, I was just ecstatic.”
Younger brother Marco, 17, said he was delighted to have Gino home.
Fraserburgh man Stephen Davies has appeared at Peterhead Sheriff Court in connection with the assault on December 20.
He faced charges of assault to serious injury and attempted murder. The 20-year-old made no plea and was released on bail.
Mr Biesek, known to pals as Plug, is survived by his partner, Tatyana Miteva, and their two-year-old daughter.