A new normal for Mienke’s family
Despite changes brought on by Mienke's admission to a hospital in Johannesburg, the Mulder family remain grateful and thankful for the support they have received as well as hopeful that God will heal her
MBOMBELA – Ryno Mulder’s seven-month-old baby, Mienke, has spent the past month in a Johannesburg hospital after she stopped breathing when she choked on a bottle.
Mother Verna has been by their daughter’s side all the way, often sleeping at the hospital while Ryno had to return to work in Mbombela.
MRI scans show that Mienke has suffered severe brain damage and can no longer see. It is believed she will not be able to talk or walk. “She will have to start over, because now she is like a newborn baby again,” Verna said.
“I miss our family,” an emotional Ryno told Lowvelder yesterday.
The couple’s two older daughters are also being cared for in Delmas. The separation has been hard on the family.
The kids cannot visit their sister in the Netcare Waterfall City Hospital in Midrand, as they are too young.
Ryno said, however, that he can see that they miss her. “Leané (4) asks about her all the time. Zamoné (18 months) is not clear about what is happening. She grabbed my phone to kiss her sister after we showed her a video of Mienke.”
The same video was shared on Facebook. It received 2 800 likes within 48 hours. The page Please Pray for Mienke has gathered massive support, even from overseas.
It started out as a request for prayers when Mienke was just admitted. Now it has more than 25 000 followers.
The baby girl has touched many hearts. People want daily updates, and have created their own initiatives to support her: Wear Pink for Mienke which takes place every Wednesday. The initiative recently inspired a trust fund.
“We got a lot of offers of monetary support, especially from people in New Zealand, Australia and Ukraine who wanted to do more than pray for her,” Ryno explained.
https://www.facebook.com/verna.rheeders/videos/1815180148496554/
The Mulders then opened the Mienke Mulder Trust Fund, to assure all donors that all the funds would be spent on the little bundle who has crawled so deep into people’s hearts.
“We have started receiving bills from the hospital because the medical aid only covers a certain amount for certain procedures, so this will come in handy,” he added.
This will also help care for Mienke after she has left the hospital, and possibly has to go to school when she is older.
The overwhelming support has meant a great deal to the family. “One lady came to my work and just gave me a hug and left,” said Ryno.”We never thought that we would have this many people showing their support.
“We are blessed.” He goes on to say “the Lord works in mysterious ways”. Mienke underwent an operation to put a feeding tube through her stomach on Monday.
Verna said they are still waiting to hear if she will be eligible for rehabilitation, starting Friday.
There she would be taught, among other things, to sit, balance her neck and to suck her bottle again. Once approved, the rehabilitation will run for 12 weeks.
• To donate to the Mienke Mulder Trust Fund
M. Mulder. Standard Bank
Account number: 282853952
Branch Code: 051001
