An Australian yoga teacher has recalled how he feared for his life during a terrifying home invasion in Bali that left him seriously injured.
Joe, 39, and his girlfriend were sleeping at their holiday resort in the coastal town of Canggu when he was woken by a masked intruder entering their room in the early hours of October 17.
He jumped out of bed and became involved in a struggle with the armed man.
“I was sleeping in bed with my girlfriend and I was woken up by an intruder in my house,” he said 7 News.
“So me [tired] to tackle him and at that last moment I recognized that he was holding a large knife, so [my] instinct was just to grab the knife.”
The pair fought over the knife before Joe managed to take the gun from the thief and throw it under the bed.
Joe suffered serious injuries during the violent confrontation, including a broken arm and several cuts to his finger.
He chased the man into the living room before the man smashed a picture frame over Joe’s head.
Australian yoga teacher Joe (pictured) feared he and his girlfriend would be stabbed to death when a masked intruder entered their room
CCTV captured the moment the thief fell as he fled the scene with Joe’s belongings, including his laptop, wallet and passport.
A panicked Joe sought help from a mini-mart shopkeeper after emergency services failed to respond to his calls.
He rushed to Siloam Hospital, where he spent a week before his sister helped him organize a flight to Perth.
Joe has since undergone four operations at the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital before being discharged earlier this week.
Joe (pictured) had to undergo four separate operations at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital after flying back to Perth to have his wounds treated by specialists
Specialists placed a metal plate to secure the bones between Joe’s fingers and his wrist on his left hand.
He also had surgery to repair cuts to his middle finger and to repair nerve damage to his right thumb.
Joe will now undergo three months of hand therapy and antibiotics including codeine to manage the pain.
‘We’re just grateful to be alive. You wouldn’t expect something like this to happen,” he said.
Several weeks later, Joe remains traumatized by the incident and has lost confidence in the Indonesian authorities’ ability to investigate the incident.
He set one up GoFundMe page to cover the costs of his medical bills, stolen property, emergency documents and his plane ticket, which he estimates is worth more than $20,000.
CCTV footage captured the moment the thief fled the scene (pictured) after stealing Joe’s laptop, wallet and passport
Nearly $3,900 has been raised so far, with a goal of $15,000.
Joe has traveled between Australia and Bali for the past seven years and runs his own business as a yoga instructor in the popular tourist destination.
He is not sure when he will return to Bali.