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BOITUMELO Ngidi from the Mpophomeni Township in Howick is in urgent need of funds after she had to be discharged from the Hilton Life Hospital due to her medical aid no longer covering the costs of ICU where she was receiving care after she sustained superficial burns.
While playing with her younger brother Quintin, Ngidi accidentally fell backwards into a bath of boiling hot water and was then pulled out by her mother, Nonhlanhla and rushed to the hospital which is 25 minutes away.
Upon arrival, Boitumelo was placed into ICU, after sustaining superficial burns on both her upper limbs and neck as well as “full thickness burns” on her back and buttocks. According to occupational therapist, Nadia De Barros, Boitumelo has decreased range of motion in the neck, right and left shoulders, oedema in the left hand, poor pain management, an inability to sit upright without back support, poor in-bed mobility and poor functional mobility.
“The family has suffered a tremendous ordeal, with Nonhlanhla, carrying a burden of guilt for what has happened to her daughter and the life-long scars she will have. She has so much love for her daughter and has taken unpaid leave to be at her daughter’s side as often as she can.
To make matters worse, the family car was involved in a car accident as a result of the stressful situation” said Ngidi’s beloved teacher and principal at Heritage House Preschool, Karen van Lelyveld.
Since being discharged, Ngidi has been unable to take public transportation due to her fragile state and now relies on family and friends to transport her to and from the hospital in order for her dressing to be changed ever two days which isn’t always possible.
Hoping to raise funds to support Ngidi’s ongoing medical costs, extensive occupational therapy as well as the psychological therapy her family will need, Ngidi’s teacher Van Lelyveld, set up a campaign on donations-based crowd funding platform BackaBuddy, to appeal to the public for support to overcome the shortfalls of the family’s basic medical aid plan.
“Boitumelo has endured so much for such a young child and every time she starts making progress, she gets another infection and skin grafts need to be redone, which sets her back,” said Van Lelyveld
The campaign went live on the August 17 and has thus far raised R 2 604,35 towards the fundraising target of R100 000 with contributions from seven donors.
Funds generated by this campaign will be directly managed by BackaBuddy NPC and paid directly to the relevant medical practitioners to ensure transparency with donors.
“With surgical intervention that is to follow, Boitumelo will require continued occupational therapy focusing on upper-limb rehabilitation and functional rehabilitation until she is independent in the home and school environment. In order to achieve this, she will need to attend occupational therapy sessions one to two times a week, purchase pressure garments which cost about R16 000 each, skin therapy products, and possibly splints,” said De Barros.
“Last Friday, Ngidi came to school for an occupational therapy session and stayed for about two hours. She is still having difficulty walking and the exercises were noticeably painful for her,” said Van Lelyveld.
Van Lelyveld said that it has been a heartbreaking experience for all their staff and pupils at the school to see the normally bubbly, little Boitumelo in such anguish but they were motivated by her brave spirit which she continues to put on.
“We hope the public will support our BackaBuddy campaign, so Tumi can get the treatment she needs and return to school full time,” said Van Lelyveld.
Support this cause by Donating on BackaBuddy here: https://www.backabuddy.co.za/helping-boitumelo-and-her-family-heal.
