Hyena boy’s eye saved
The teenager mauled by a hyena is recovering well and is now able to talk.
The right eye of a Centurion teenager recently mauled by a hyena has been saved, his family said this week.
Erco “Boela” Janse van Rensburg was making a remarkable comeback, said his grandfather Basie Smalberger.
The 15-year-old boy was recovering in the high care unit of Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg after undergoing reconstructive surgery to his face.
“He is making great progress. His right eye is fine, he is able to see but we think the doctor’s might still have a lot more to do,” Smalberger said
The hyena attacked the boy in the Kruger National Park last month.
Smalberger said the teenager was finally able to talk after spending weeks using hand signs to communicate with his family.
“He can talk, eat and walk. He is much better.”
Janse van Vuuren woke up around 04:00 on 26 June with the hyena’s jaws around his head at the Crocodile Bridge Camp while sleeping in a tent with his parents.
He described the sound of the hyena crushing the bones in his face like a packet of chips being crushed.
The animal dragged Janse van Rensburg about 30m before it sat on him. His father, Erno, chased the predator away.
The teenager was rushed to Mediclinic in Nelspruit before being airlifted to Milpark Hospital where he underwent a 10-hour long operation.
Also read:
Hyena boy recovering but cannot talk
Pretoria boy mauled by hyena needs reconstructive surgery
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