Against all odds this mom wins!
In the face of adversity, one mother’s determination to save her child has paid off.
In a heart-warming turn of events, Cecilia Lelosa’s two-year-old son Khotso is finally receiving the medical care he needs, thanks to the intervention of the Gauteng Department of Health and Mapepeza News Media.
Cecilia (32) from Windmill Park in the City of Ekurhuleni, had a traumatic experience giving birth to her son at the J. Dumane clinic in Vosloorus.
Due to her high blood pressure, she was transferred to the nearest hospital, where she was left alone in a ward and gave birth on her own.
Sadly, during the labour, the newborn baby hit his head on the metal part of the bed. She immediately cried for help, however she was insulted instead of receiving the necessary assistance.
“You Lesotho people are annoying, stop making noise,” one of the healthcare workers said to a distressed Lelosa.
The ordeal didn’t end there. Soon after giving birth to his son, Khotso, the little one was diagnosed with a medical condition that required surgery. She was told the procedure which would cost over R15,000 – since Cecilia is not a South African citizen.
As an unemployed single mother, she didn’t have the means to afford the operation, and she feared for her two year old son’s life.
Baby Khotso is assumed to have a condition called Hydrocephalus. This disease is characterized by accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) occurs within the brain, also called ‘water in the brain’.
This typically causes increased pressure inside the skull. In infants, hydrocephalus may be seen as a rapid increase in head size. Other symptoms may include vomiting, sleepiness, seizures, and downward pointing of the eyes.
As a foreign national, Lelosa was unable to get a birth certificate from the Home Affairs department, which would have assisted his son to get medical attention from any other public health institution free of charge.
Cecilia shared her story of adversity with Mapepeza News Media which prompted the team to make enquiries that ensured she received the necessary help.
The Gauteng Department of Health contacted Cecilia and gave her a referral letter to visit the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital in Johannesburg, where Khotso was operated on to insert a pipe that would drain the water from his head. After the successful operation, Khotso was discharged and given a return date for his first check-up.
Khotso is expected to able to soon walk, crawl, and play like a toddler, and he can digest other foods besides Weetbix and oats. Cecilia can breathe a sigh of relief and focus on raising her son, knowing that he is in good hands.
This heartwarming story is a reminder of the power of the media to make a positive impact on people’s lives, and we at Mapepeza News Media are proud to have played a part in this story.
