Councillor is on the mend after heart attack

Freedom Front Plus PR councillor Riaan van Zyl, a man well-known in the Brakpan community, is on the mend after recently suffering a heart attack.

Van Zyl was visiting friends in Minnebron on March 16, when the heart attack started. Just after 19:00, he was admitted to the Tambo Memorial Hospital in Boksburg.

Various tests were done, and with a blood pressure reading that was sky-high he was moved to the resuscitation ward.

After being stabilised, he was moved to the general ward on Monday morning.

The following day he was transferred to the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital where he was scheduled for more tests.

One of the tests was an angiogram, which entails injecting a special dye into the veins to image them with X-rays.

“It took two and a half hours and was incredibly painful,” Van Zyl said.

Two blockages to the heart were found, and completely removed with medication.

On Thursday, Van Zyl was discharged and is now on bed rest. He continued giving updates where necessary, but is otherwise taking it slow.

“I just want to thank everyone for the supportive messages and prayers I’ve received, and I appreciate each and every one,” he said.

“I’m a witness of the power of prayer. I was also deeply touched to hear that so many friends and residents wanted to visit.

“To the residents of Brakpan, your overwhelming support through messages on social media and other platforms was incredibly emotional to see, and it gave me even more strength to keep going.

“There are too many people to thank individually, more than 300. But, you all know who you are, and I appreciate each and every one of you.

“To the doctors and hospital staff, your care and dedication were outstanding. And finally, thank you God, for my second chance at life. I will stand up and make the best of it,” he concluded.

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