Long recovery for crash victim
A former chef at Canterbury’s popular She Universe cafe will never cook again after he nearly died in a crash, doctors say.
Khadag Bahadur Bista remains in hospital more than a month after being pried from the mangled wreckage of his crashed car on a South Canterbury highway.
Bista’s family flew to Christchurch from Nepal to wait by his bedside after he crashed into a tree on Arundel Rakaia Gorge Rd, about five kilometres south of Mayfield, on January 31. The crash happened on the same stretch of road Shane Forsyth was found in submerged in his van after a fatal crash in Canterbury last year.
Despite minimal improvement in Bista’s recovery and ‘‘big decisions’’ ahead, his family said they were comforted by even a smile from the ‘‘carefree’’ husband and father.
Bista was a devoted Hindu and vegetarian, although he could cook a ‘‘mean’’ steak, friend Jacqueline Cunningham said.
He was born in Hariyon, a small village in Nepal, and became a cook’s assistant at a young age, working his way up to head chef at internationally-acclaimed restaurants.
Bista ran his own business in Kathmandu, then earned top positions as a fine dining chef in the Maldives, Seychelles, Vanuatu and Rarotonga before moving to Christchurch and working in Governors Bay’s She Universe Cafe.
He was on his way to visit friends in Geraldine when the crash happened.
Firefighters freed him from the wreckage using the jaws of life and emergency services were at the crash site for about two hours treating his severely-injured body.
His brain was ‘‘badly damaged’’ from the jolt and he remained critically injured in Christchurch Hospital. A full recovery was not expected and doctors had told the family he would never be a chef again.
Cunningham said Bista’s future was unknown. One of the most difficult parts of the aftermath of a serious crash was the sense of helplessness his friends and family felt, she said.
A Givealittle fund raised nearly $7000 to bring his family to New Zealand, but their time here was running out and Bista had not made any ‘‘major leaps forward’’. Not being able to work would be a devastating blow for the passionate foodie, Cunningham said.
He had recently accepted a role as sous chef at the Hole in One restaurant in Millbrook Resort, Queenstown, but longed to be back in Nepal with his wife, Sabita, and two young sons. He was finalising documentation to bring his family to New Zealand just before the crash happened.
‘‘Khadag was very carefree. He loved travelling and driving around New Zealand, which we did together,’’ Cunningham said. ‘‘He really is an amazing chef, very talented.’’