Dumisani Vilakazi (38), from Vosloorus, walks a new path to restore his life after surviving a brain injury during a robbery in November 2017.

Vilakazi was attacked by unknown men when returning to his Extension 8 home.

He only recalls being struck by an object on his head, waking up the next day at his aunt’s house in Extension 28, Vosloorus, and being taken by an unknown man to the hospital.

Vilakazi was employed as a clerk under the Expanded Public Works Programme at Sunrise Clinic. Before the incident, he was with a friend catching up and drinking.

When he wanted to leave, his friend suggested he sleep there given that they grew up together.

“Although I was drunk, I did not want to sleep over because I had left my girlfriend and young son at home,” said Vilakazi.

He said his girlfriend was pregnant with a second child, but he did not know that then.

“While I was walking home past Khoza Road near a construction site, I was attacked. I do not remember exactly what happened, but I do remember arriving at my aunt’s place and being assisted by a man who knew me.”

“He knocked on the door and my aunt woke up to open it. She was angry. She told us we were annoying her and she took me to a bedroom where I slept.”

He said his aunt did not realise he was injured until the next morning when she found blood on his pillow.

“They rushed me to J Dumane Clinic. The doctor examined me and wrote a letter to transfer me to Thelle Mogoerane Hospital.

“I think the doctor failed me because if he noticed that the injury could cause severe damage, he was supposed to call the ambulance instead of providing me with a letter.”

Vilakazi only went to Thelle Mogoerane a week later when his situation worsened. He went home after leaving J Dumane Clinic.

“My girlfriend was worried because I did not come home the previous night, and when I returned home, I had a bandage on my head, and the injuries I sustained from the ambush attack were visible on my face.”

He spent the week at home and travelled to Chris Hani Crossing Mall to buy clothes for his child and groceries.

“I was okay, but I had a headache. Without realising it, I was bleeding internally. I had already informed my girlfriend that I had a letter to go to the hospital.”

His girlfriend reminded him to go, but he was stubborn and procrastinated until one morning when he woke up to go to the toilet and realised he could not control the left side of his body.

“I woke my girlfriend who was sleeping next to me. She called our back opposite neighbour, who helped me get up and took me to the toilet.”

“My neighbour called a taxi to take me to Thelle Mogoerane Hospital. They conducted a CT scan upon admission. That is when they discovered I had bloody clothes.”

Vilakazi said he was scared because he had seen people die in his ward.

“I knew that every time I saw a stretcher in the middle of the night, it meant someone had died. It bothered me. I thought of my children all the time,” he said.

“My girlfriend visited me every day, and I would ask her to take me home. According to her, I spoke nonsense because of the brain damage.”

He said he wanted to see his child but was told that children younger than two are not allowed. By God’s grace, he saw his child.

All Vilakazi wanted was to leave the hospital and be with his family. However, he was bedridden.

He had a catheter and had to wear adult nappies because he could not go to the toilet. He was attending physiology sessions but still wanted to leave.

He overheard a patient arguing with the doctor about the refusing hospital treatment (RHT) document, which the patient had requested to sign for several days.

“I did not understand what RHT stood for. I asked the man after the doctor left. He explained it is one of the patient’s rights if they feel they are not treated well at the hospital. You sign it and leave. The hospital cannot keep patients against their will.”

He also tried to get the RHT document from the same doctor, but the doctor refused to provide it.

“One day, I attended my physiology classes. While I was there, I requested the RHT document. I completed it and returned with it to the ward.

“The hospital was forced to let me go, but given my condition, the nurses tried to convince me to stay. They asked me who would take care of me because they said my girlfriend would be unable to stand for this for long (nurse’s shift).

“They said she would only help me for the first few months and would get tired of it. Still, I wanted to leave and go home,” he said.

The hospital called his girlfriend to pick him up. It was the middle of the month and there was no money.

Fortunately, she contacted his colleague at Sunrise Clinic, who always dropped him at home after work. His colleague fetched him, but the nurses requested he left the wheelchair behind.

“My girlfriend spoke to another colleague and informed her I was discharged and still wearing adult nappies. God works in mysterious ways. The lady brought me adult nappies and promised to bring me an old wheelchair for me to move around.”

Ability over disability

Vilakazi was determined to get back on his feet. He said one of his neighbours recommend a physiologist from Poly Clinic.

“I was in bed when they arrived. I heard my girlfriend speaking English and thought it was the Somalians who moved house to house selling pots, only to find that it was a physiologist who came to help me,”
He said the physiologist gave him hope when he said he was there to help and that he also had to put in the effort.

“He told me to remain mentally strong because everything starts with determination and a good mindset. His words motivated me.

“But it was not easy. Physio is painful and our tenants could hear me scream from outside while I stretched. Within a week I could stand up, but I still used the wheelchair to move around the house.”

His friend would take him for walks while pushing him in his wheelchair. His friend suggested he attend church, so he joined Kingdom Hall, where he found a great support structure.

It has been five years since Vilakazi was injured, and physio has helped. He can now walk with a cane to Poly Clinic to attend physio sessions.

Vilakazi is determined to turn his life around. He volunteers at Novensi Organisation. The NPO needed disabled people for a business administration leanership at Sakhi Siswe.

After the learnership concluded, he continued volunteering. He has not yet been allocated a role. He hopes to find work and continue supporting his family.

He is also looking for platforms to do public and motivational speaking.