A mother with a heart of gold for her son
ALEXANDRA – Each time the power goes off; Lekalakala says she has to call an ambulance for assistance.
The mother of a bedridden infant in Extension 8 of the Far East Bank section of Alexandra has welcomed the donation of a generator to help her son.
Jessica Lekalakala, mother to Gomolemo, who was born in March last year with multiple birth defects and relies on an oxygen ventilator to breathe, expressed her gratitude for the donation.
Lekalakala told Alex News after the handover of the generator that her son was born with an interrupted aorta of the heart which she said in simple terms meant that the two chambers of the heart were not connected.
Gomolemo was also born without one of two valves that help to pump blood to the various parts of the body. In addition, the boy was also born with DiGeorge syndrome which in simple terms means he has a shortage of information in his DNA and it affects his development.
The unemployed Lekalakala, who survives by selling items such as bags, hats and clothes, said her child was born at Life Carstenhof Hospital in Midrand but because of the need for operations, he was transferred to Netcare Sunninghill Hospital which has a Heart and Lung Institute.
Gomolemo was in theatre 15 times for operations, two major and 13 minor ones, in the nine months since his birth.
When asked how she managed to cope, Lekalakala said she had developed a thick skin and took each day as it came and gave thanks to the Almighty each and every day.
Conveying her gratitude to Limuwani Lithole, the executive director of Bryanston-based Lidwala Consulting Engineers which donated the generator, she said the machine came as a huge lifesaver for her son with all the power cuts being experienced in the country.
“Each time the power goes off, I have to call an ambulance to either provide backup power for his ventilator or to transport him to Sunninghill Hospital. That has become part of my life routine,” she said.
Details: Jessica Lekalakala 061 343 6602; tjitjilekalakala@gmail.com
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