Pretoria West resident in awe over donations after she was hit by a bus

Sharlene Coopoosammy, a Pretoria West resident’s life changed in the blink of an eye when she was run over by a bus in October 2019.

The 37-year-old has been bedridden ever since the horrific ordeal.

Her greatest dream is to return to work in order to support herself and her pensioner mother, Sylvia Naidoo.

Coopoosammy was on her way to work when all of a sudden, she was caught under a bus.

“I heard someone screaming ‘be careful’ and the next moment, I was flying through the air.”

She was taken to Steve Biko hospital where she remained for five months.

The doctors did skin-grafts to her left leg and fixed her right ankle.

After she was discharged from the hospital, she had to move back home so that her mother could care for and look after her.

“I am in constant pain. It is very frustrating not being able to look after myself and in my state of mind it is depressing.”

The necessary operations for her to be able to sit, walk and drive were out of reach as she does not have medical aid.

However, Coopoosammy can now look forward to a new chapter in her life as donations streamed in from good Samaritans after a friend of hers requested financial help.

Namugaya Kisuule, a friend of Coopoosammy sent an email to Jacaranda FM Good Morning Angels.

“Sharlene’s last assessment has indicated that there is no reason that she should not be able to walk again. It is merely a matter of her getting the necessary surgery and rehabilitation.

“Our wish is to see Sharlene up on her feet again, able to be a productive member of society, supporting her ageing mum who, herself, has several health issues,” said Kisuule.

Martin Bester and his team contacted the family to share the wonderful news of two angels who are willing to assist get Sharlene back onto her feet and to live a normal life.

Dr Helene Basson, founder of Operation Healing Hands at Eugene Marais hospital said that she had the pleasure of meeting Coopoosammy last week.

“She is such a wonderful person,” said Basson.

“She has severe injuries, but she’s got so much potential.

“The team of surgeons will operate on both Sharlene’s feet, so she can walk on them again. About three months after this, they will do the second phase of foot surgery and around six months after this, they will do a total hip replacement with the reconstruction of the hip socket,” said Basson.

Another angel, Trevor Case and his team at Accident Angels will sponsor R300 000 to fund the treatment.

“We specialise in getting people who were involved in car accidents into private hospitals,” Case said.

“When we were approached by Good Morning Angels, we knew that we could help Sharlene to be mobile and active.

“The funds needed to pay for theatre time include hospital stay, medication, and consumables during Sharlene’s surgeries, to ensure that she gets the best medical treatment possible,” he said.

Accident Angels will also assist with the services of biokinetics for rehab after her operations.

Coopoosammy was in tears when she got the phone call from Good Morning Angels.

“I am touched and speechless about how good people are to offer their services.

“I know that I am now in the best possible hands to get me back on my feet.

“From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank everyone who will be part of my recovery journey,” she said.

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