Forgiveness is important says Mienke’s dad, Ryno
Despite all that they have been through since Mienke was admitted to hospital last month, Ryno Mulder has forgiven the day mother responsible for his eight month daughter's brain damage
MBOMBELA – Ryno Mulder (30) has forgiven the woman responsible for his eight-month-old daughter’s brain damage.
The Mulder family has been clinging to hope since their daughter, Mienke, was diagnosed with severe brain damage after she had stopped breathing. She choked on a bottle in her day mother’s care on August 25.
Ryno did not want to reveal the woman’s name nor that of her crèche because he had forgiven her. “You can’t get angry, you have to forgive,” the father said.
According to the woman, she was holding Mienke while feeding her.”She thought that she had fallen asleep and next thing she saw her turning blue.”
The woman started patting Mienke on the back, but she was unresponsive, so they rushed her to hospital. They called mom Verna, who was at PG Glass’ reception at the time
“I was here in my office and I heard her scream.” He thought there was a robbery with someone pointing a gun at his staff, so he ran to go check. “I saw her run towards her car and called out to find out what was wrong.”
All Verna said was, “‘Mienke” and they sped off to the crèche. When they arrived, the assistant just pointed towards the hospital and that is where they went.
She was resuscitated and airlifted to Netcare Waterfall City in Midrand, where she has been since. The baby girl is believed to be blind and doctors fear that she will be unable to walk or talk.
On Monday a feeding tube was inserted in her stomach. Mienke’s doctors said yesterday that she was not yet eligible for rehab to relearn how to suckle, balance her head and sit due to her crying a lot and getting fits.
In a statement on the Facebook group they started, Please Pray for Mienke, Ryno wrote, “They say she needs to be more stable, less crying and less spastic and no fits.
“At this stage they have increased her medication because she cannot cope without it. ” The family members’ lives have become a roller-coaster ride. They only moved from Benoni to Mbombela in May.
Ryno has since returned to work in Mbombela on Monday to Wednesday before returning to Delmas where their two girls Leané (4) and Zamoné (18 months) are being cared for by their grandparents.
On Monday Ryno dropped Leané off at their previous day mother in Benoni and the excitement on her face was nostalgic for him as she was in the care of someone they trust. The woman has cared for both girls since they were babies.
The community’s support has nonetheless been unwavering. More than 26 000 people have since started following Mienke’s progress on the Facebook group. Some have organised a “Pink for Mienke” drive every Wednesday.
Hoërskool Bergvlam held a Pink for Mienke day yesterday and pupils and teachers showed their support to the Mulder family. They contributed more than R6 373 which will be donated to the Mienke Mulder Trust Fund.
The trust is being administered by their lawyer to whom they send their hospital bills. Any contributions to the fund can be sent to M Mulder, Standard Bank, account number: 282853952, branch code: 051001.
