The long road to success for Bergvlam matric student

The traditional path was set out for Nasreen Fakir when she was a matric in 2018.

Her goal in life was to obtain her matric certificate and then study.

But none of this happened. When Nasreen started grade 12 she told her mother that she had a feeling that she would not see the end of the year.

Terrible headaches, a bad sense of balance and extreme pain made it difficult for her to keep food down. “I struggled to read and study for prelims, because the world kept spinning,” said Nasreen.

She was classified as unfit to write her preliminary examination in the hopes of writing everything in the finals. Through the year she had unexplained weight loss and excessive pain.

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The doctors did a G scope to ascertain what was causing her pain. While under local anaesthetic, Nasreen flatlined on the operating table. “My mom was under the cables and at my side.

She felt that I was cold and leaned over to put her jersey on me and to hug me. As she touched me I took a short breath,” said Nasreen.

“The doctors said sometimes all it takes is a mother’s touch.”

Despite still losing weight and being sick, her mother convinced her to go to her matric farewell.

The following day she felt a lump on the side of her breast that had never been there before.

Anxiously Nasreen woke her mom to come and have a look.

They found a new doctor, Dr Sheriff Ibirogba, who was willing to operate a day before her 18th birthday.

During the operation the doctors found two lumps and removed them.

“In 2019 I still experienced unexplained weight loss and struggled to keep food down.

I was then diagnosed with superior mesenteric artery syndrome,” said Nasreen.

Eating only liquidised food, she slowly started to get better.

Nasreen said, “The biggest blow to me was not the lump or the surgery, but that I could not get my matric certificate in 2018. I felt that working so hard, everything went down the drain.

That was the hardest pill to swallow. I felt that the world was moving around me and I was stagnant. I could not process it, because I had no control over the situation.”

“My mother kept on saying there is no time frame in life.”

See Friday’s Lowvelder for the story about her journey to finish grade 12.