MBOMBELA – A 51-year-old shop owner of Komatipoort sustained brain damage during a vicious panga attack by a disgruntled former employee on Friday.
He is currently recuperating in Rob Ferreira Hospital after having been operated on at Mediclinic Nelspruit.
Mr Tony Fernandes has been a resident of Komatipoort for three years and recently opened Senhor Chicken Store. According to his daughter, Ms Kim Fernandes, her father held a braai for employees on Friday afternoon. He left to drop off some of them and when he returned, he was overpowered by a man wielding a panga.
He screamed and this alerted people in the neighbourhood who summoned a local security company to the scene. According to a media statement issued by the police in Komatipoort, they found Fernandes unconscious in a pool of blood outside the store. An ambulance was called out and he was taken to Shongwe Hospital. His injuries were very severe so he was transferred to Tonga Hospital.
Physicians there were also of the opinion that Fernandes needed more specialised care and he was transferred to Rob Ferreira Hospital in Mbombela. His two daughters arrived in the city on Saturday and went to see their father.
They scraped together R80 000 and had him transferred to Mediclinic Nelspruit where orthopaedic and neurosurgeons operated on his brain and arm. He was in ICU for 36 hours. The family was then informed that the costs had already totalled R183 295 and they had him transferred back to Rob Ferreira where he is currently receiving treatment.
They had praise for Dr Oluseun Labeodan, the neurosurgeon who operated on their father, and commended the hospital for the care he had received there.
However, his arm could only be stabilised in Mediclinic to avoid the risk of infection. It had been fractured in three places and there was nerve damage which was repaired in a follow-up operation yesterday.
He has regained consciousness, but is battling to communicate. According to Fernandes, the neurosurgeon explained to the family that the frontal lobe which controls speech and concentration, had been damaged. “He knows what he wants to say, but cannot articulate it,” Fernandes added. He gets very agitated, which is also symptomatic of the brain damage.
“He was able to indicate to us that it was a former employee who had attacked him. He had fired him for selling alcohol illegally on the business premises,” Fernandes said. The police are investigating a case of attempted murder and hope to make an arrest soon.
“The neurosurgeon says he is confident my father will make a full recovery, but that it will take some time. He will need physio and speech therapy. We have already made the decision to relocate to Komatipoort to help him on this journey to recovery,” Fernandes said.
• Those interested in making a donation towards the medical costs, can contact his daughter on 072-351-7488.
