Stefan Schoeman, the 22-year-old who fell three storeys down – from the fifth to the second floor – at the Galloway Centre in Strand last Tuesday afternoon (7 May), is making a slow but steady recovery at Busamed Paardevlei Private Hospital following four operations, and remains in the intensive care unit there.
“Stefan is awake and lucid, and talks to us and the staff and medical specialists,” his grandfather Johan Schoeman, told the DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette. “We are not going to mention any specific injury, this is private information.
“Stefan was busy on our balcony and leaned out of the sliding window. He slipped and lost his balance and fell down to the second floor roof. He was fortunate not to land on the wall of the second floor, which helped to reduce more extensive damage to his body.”
About the same time, his grandmother, Adriana, went to the balcony to water some plants and saw him lying there.
“She rushed downstairs and called a friend on the second floor to help her,” Johan added. “A lady in one of the units gave them access to the second-floor roof and they rushed out to assist Stefan. He was semi-conscious and they told him not to move, help is on the way. Another resident also came out and checked for Stefan’s pulse. They covered him with a blanket to keep him warm, while emergency assistance was on the way. My wife also called our own doctor, who was only a block away, for assistance. During this whole process I was busy with the ambulance teams of Netcare 911 and ER24.
He said a young lady, a first-aid responder, from Strand Patrol Buurtwag was the first emergency responder on site and gave assistance to Stefan.
Strand Patrol Buurtwag and Securite Security activated the Emergency and Crime response teams working as a group in Helderberg and they all rushed to the scene.
“Both ER24 and GB Med rescue arrived at the same time,” Johan related, “with ER24 taking the lead as instructed by my medical aid’s protocol and Netcare 911. ER24 stabilised Stefan and evacuated him to Busamed ER, which is closest. He was admitted with multiple injuries.
“This will be a long road to recovery that will take several months. For the moment he may have no contact or visits from anybody, expect his grandparents. We ask that friends and acquaintances will honour this request. They will be advised when Stefan may receive any visitors.”
Schoeman, who lost his father in 2015 to lung cancer, completed matric with excellent results in 2020, and was meant to start a new job at the end of May. His grandparents legally adopted him and have been taking care of him from the age of four.
The Schoeman family extended thanks and appreciation for the quick and extensive response from responders. “We especially thank the various residents in the building that immediately responded to help us and all the other residents that assisted to get the various emergency and/or security personnel to the site of the accident. You know who you are. Thank you also to our house doctor, who is a champion. Our gratitude goes to the various medical professionals that sprang into action and will be with us for a long time, thank you.”
The family also expressed frustration at some of the responders from the neighbourhood patrol group who “shamelessly” posted photos of the scene onto Facebook along with a report that contained “factual errors”. “No permission was sought to take photos, nor was it given by us or anybody on the scene,” said Johan.
“The accident occurred on private property, so any photos taken were an invasion of privacy. To date the culprit has never contacted us or obtained any permission from us. The post is still there, a gross violation of privacy.”
