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Otto Lijzenga
Blenheim’s wife, Kana Hirose, pictured with her husband Otto Lijzenga, died after a freak bicycle accident near Nelson on Christmas Eve.
The husband of a woman who died in a bicycle accident near Nelson is mourning the loss of his “soul mate.”
Kana Hirose, a 50-year-old woman from Blenheim, died after a freak accident while riding her bike on the Great Taste Cycle Trail, south of Nelson, on Christmas Eve.
Hirose’s husband, Otto Lijzenga, said that the loss of his wife, to whom he had been married since 2016, had left a void that would never completely disappear.
“She was my total partner, my soul mate, my twin. I used to joke with people that she was my sister.
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“One word that sums her up, besides being affectionate and kind, was her sweetness.
“All we wanted to do was spend every second together. We were very close, not only as a loving couple, but also spiritually. “
The accident occurred while the couple was on their fourth and final day of the Tasman trip, and they were heading north to Nelson from Tapawera.
Neil Smith / Supplied
The accident occurred near the Spooners Tunnel on the Great Taste Trail south of Nelson.
About a kilometer below the gently sloping track at Spooners Tunnel, the pair approached a branch dangling over the track.
Lijzenga said that while dodging under it, his wife lost control of her bike trying to avoid it and fell after ending up on some loose gravel.
During the fall, the handlebars of the bicycle pushed his stomach and ruptured his liver.
Due to his pained expression, I quickly realized that it was not a slight fall. I rushed over to her, I was aiming for her tummy. “
Lijzenga said that while he was struggling to find cell phone reception to call emergency services, he could not leave his wife in the state she was in.
Otto Lijzenga
Lizenga said that in addition to being loving and kind, the word that best summed up his wife Kana was her sweetness.
Finally, he managed to seize the 111 and two other cyclists who were passing stopped to help and give CPR.
“His health deteriorated rapidly, he was losing and losing consciousness.”
Without a landing site for the helicopter, medics and a defibrillator went down, but Hirose could not be revived and died at the scene.
Lijzenga said that the Gnostic faith shared by the couple had helped him overcome the loss.
“[From a spiritual perspective] knowing where she is now is a great comfort to me.
He said he would raise some money to go to the Nelson Marlborough rescue helicopter for their rescue efforts, and to Elim Church in Blenheim for their generosity in opening their doors for the celebration of Hirose’s life next week.
