Zanele Khumalo desperately needs help for her disabled teenage son.
Anelenhle was born at the Evander Hospital in 2011. The doctor told the new mother her son was not well and had to go to Steve Biko Hospital.
Khumalo said she could make her way to Steve Biko Hospital three days later to check on her baby, but they turned her away.
Several days later, she received a call from a doctor asking permission to operate on the infant.
“I agreed, with the hope my son would be fine, but the doctor told me Anelenhle has spina bifida. A month later, I received another phone call instructing me to collect my baby from Witbank Hospital.
“When I received the discharge papers at the hospital, I noticed he underwent a massive operation on his spinal cord and his head was swollen.
“I took him home but after a few days, his situation worsened because he also could not see,” Khumalo told the Ridge Times.
“I took Anelenhle to the Evander Hospital, from where they transported us to Steve Biko Hospital. Upon our arrival, they told me he needed another operation to drain water from his head.”Khumalo said doctors inserted a shunt to drain the excess fluid from the brain.
Since then, Anelenhle needs full-time care.
Spina bifida is a type of neural tube defect (NTD) where the neural tube does not close and the backbone that protects the spinal cord does not form and close.
This results in damage to the spinal cord and nerves.
“My son cannot go to the toilet, so he has to wear diapers,” said Khumalo.
She said her Anelenhle only eats noodles, soft porridge and sometimes porridge and soup.
As an unemployed mother, Khumalo relies on Anelenhle’s disability grant to care for him. She spends most of this grant on diapers.
She cannot search for work, because she has no one to look after Anelenhle. He needs special attention around the clock.
She appeals to the community for assistance, saying she will be grateful for help with diapers and food for Anelenhle.
Anyone who wants to help can contact Khumalo on 063 656 5505.
