One of our LIV children got bitten by a black mamba a few weeks ago.
He was rushed to Alberlito hospital where the staff were great, and we knew it was the best care he could be in. But a couple of hours in things took a terrible turn when the venom attacked his lungs. Coach Jono and Mum Thembi decided not to move him to a state hospital due to his critical condition and had to make a call to book him into ICU at Alberlito to get the essential care he needed immediately. It was a long night…
They returned home at 5am not knowing what the next hours would hold, having been told “we will see hour by hour.” We did the only thing that we could… we called everyone on the village to pray and worship together. We also started a fundraising page to help with the hospital costs as we did not know what the future would be. This was certainly faith and not sight!
During the church gathering at 11am we got a call that we had to move him to Albert Luthuli Hospital because Alberlito does not have a paediatric license unless it is a life-or-death situation. Again we had to pray for a smooth transfer and we knew he would be in great hands as the head of the paediatric ward was one of the best snake bite doctors in SA. He was at this point on a ventilator and we were told that he would need to be on it for at least 48 hours to keep him breathing.
Later that day Jono and mum Thembi got to the hospital to find him talking and off the ventilator. What a miracle! The anti-venom had worked, his body responded without a machine to keep him alive or even assist him in breathing. Not even 24 hours of the 48 required on the ventilator. He came home the following morning after the whole village had celebrated the goodness of Jesus at devotions.
After returning home and allowing him to settle in, life continued as usual… school, village activities, playing with friends and to our joy- he scored the opening goal for our U11’s in a soccer tournament (and he is still 9 years old!)
We took him back to the hospital this week and the staff referred to him as “miracle boy”, they were astonished at how he was alive. The entire staff at Alberlito knew of his case and were deeply moved by his story of survival. To God be the Glory!
Thank you all for your prayers and support. It takes a village… and the prayers of faithful family from around the world.
