With the Eastern Cape’s catheterisation lab at the Port Elizabeth Provincial Hospital being closed for the past two years, good Samaritans recently came together to ensure that a seven-year-old heart patient got the procedure that he so desperately needed.
Although Elmarie van der Merwe-Brynard’s son, Joshua, underwent the procedure less than two weeks ago at Life St George’s Hospital, she is nowhere near done with her struggle to see that the doors of the “cath lab,” as it is commonly referred to, are reopened.
The lab was closed in October 2018, after the equipment became defective and was never replaced.
Since then, Van der Merwe-Brynard had to listen to several broken promises from the Department of Health about when the lab would reopen, while the time for Joshua to undergo the procedure was getting nearer and nearer.
At the age of four months, Joshua was diagnosed with atrial septal defect (ASD) and several other heart defects. In layman’s terms, Joshua has half a heart that is not connected to his lungs. One of the side effects is that the levels of oxygen in his blood can decrease to 75% and he becomes tired very quickly. Although it cannot be fixed, there are surgeries and relief therapy that can help him.
Last Monday, little Joshua was running around in his Superman outfit while his mother explained his illness.
Looking at Joshua, it’s hard to believe that he had already undergone three surgeries in his short life.
One more awaits, but for that, Joshua has to undergo a procedure at the lab to determine whether he is suitable for the surgery.
After it became clear that Provincial Hospital’s lab would not reopen anytime soon, Van der Merwe-Brynard, without a medical aid, went to the private hospital.
The cost of the surgery was estimated to be R190 000 and she immediately started with an online fund-raising initiative.
A company that prefers to stay anonymous and members of the community started helping straight away and doctors of the Thanda Heart Foundation offered their time free of charge. Life St George’s Hospital even paid a portion of the bill.
On Saturday, September 19, the foundation’s paediatric cardiologist, Dr Samkelo Jiyana, and paediatric cardiologist and electrophysiologist, Dr Adele Greyling, performed the procedure on Joshua that examined the pressure in his veins in and around the heart chambers.
The following Monday, Jiyana confirmed that Joshua’s pressure was low enough, making him suitable for the final surgery that could prevent further mixing of blood in the heart.
A date for the operation still needs to be scheduled at the Provincial Hospital.
“Joshua’s story up until now has been nothing short of a miracle. It is a miracle that he survived, grew up and gained weight before he was diagnosed. He surprises us every time with how strong he is,” Van der Merwe-Brynard said.
She admits that there were times when the many challenges and unknown path made her doubt her faith, but now that she is able to see the impact Joshua’s story has had on the lives of others, it gives her a sense of calm through the trauma.
“It made me so excited to see how the people of Port Elizabeth came together and helped,” she added.
With the biggest portion of Joshua’s hospital bill paid and thanks to a golf day fund-raiser, enough money was raised to help even more children that find themselves in the same situation as Joshua.
Meanwhile, MEC for Health in the Eastern Cape, Sindiswa Gomba’s spokesperson, Judy Ngoloyi, said that the cath lab in Nelson Mandela Bay was expected to reopen its doors in November.
According to her, the machine is more sophisticated and modern than its predecessor, which means that staff need training. This training will be completed in October.
Ngoloyi did not respond to questions as to why the process of reopening the lab took almost two years.
