It has been over a year that I have not posted the update but have
decided to tell the story.
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| At Mother Theresa Home |
Today,
Natasha is a new person, a different person, a woman trying to come to terms
with the loss of a limb. Yes, Natasha
had to undergo the amputation of her leg just above the knee. It has been a
dramatic time or her and those who were with her during this life
changing situation.
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| Day after amputation |
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If you read the story published around the end of June last year, you
would have known that Natasha was in the hospital,
and there was deliberation on what would happen to the foot that turned gangrenous.
(Abused White Woman Will have FootAmputated)
Natasha was transferred to the Johannesburg General Hospital and
underwent the operation; she was transferred back to the South Rand Hospital where she spent two months
recuperating. During this time, we
managed to locate her family who was
genuinely concerned and visited her
promising to take care of her. Her
father promised to take her home and support her. There was a resounding amount
of support from friends who willingly donated a wheelchair, clothing, and food. Natasha was happy;
she found her family.
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| At South Rand Hospital |
During August 2015 her father took her home. He lived in a one-bedroom flat,
with his second wife and her daughter. The
lounge area was a bedroom, and Natasha shared this with her father. At this time, she could not walk, had a lot
of pain and depended on the family to help her bath, get dressed and eat. It was
here that her amputated leg developed an infection,
and she was taken back to the
hospital. The six weeks she spent with
her father was traumatic, and caused friction between
the family. I visited her occasionally and did not know what to do; everybody was complaining. The family could
not cope and so one day, the stepmother
took Natasha to the Welfare offices and left here there. Since then we have
never heard from her father, he just vanished.
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| wound infected |
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It was in September that the Welfare placed her in a home In
a black township in Vosloorus. Natasha was unhappy, had no medication and
isolated. Natasha was sick; her leg was not healing and in need of
desperate medical attention. The sister
at the home said she had to go back to the South Rand Hospital. It was arranged, and Natasha was back where it all
started.
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| At Vosloorus home |
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| Abandoned outside hospital |
At the South Rand Hospital, the staff
refused to treat her and banned her from
entering the building. She was homeless sitting outside the South Rand Hospital
waiting for help. The hospital refuse to treat her because her father removed her from the
hospital before she was discharged. Thus
the reason she was not given medicine when she left.
Sitting in a wheelchair, holding a bag of clothing, Natasha was once again
homeless. It was hot, the middle of summer and nobody wanted to help her. I had
to ask the security guards to watch her until we got some help. I phoned the
Democratic Alliance (DA), the official opposition party and spoke to a counselor,
who was willing to help. I was so thankful. The DA counselor
went to the hospital and took Natasha to a home in the South of
Johannesburg. From there she was placed
in the Mother Theresa Home, in Yeoville, east of Johannesburg.
It was at the Mother Theresa home that Natasha
really cared for. The sisters were wonderful, got her back to the hospital
where she received proper medical attention. Natasha had medication, a clean
bed to sleep in and food to eat. It was here that she learned to walk using a walker
and then using crutches. The sisters helped her get a disability grant and for
the first time, Natasha had her own money. It was here that Natasha experienced
love and acceptance.
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| At Mother Theresa Home |
Natasha spent the last few months at
the home growing and loving life. For the
first time in years, Natasha had the
opportunity to unburden the past and find stability. During this time, her mother often went to visit, and a decision was taken for Natasha to
leave the home and live with her mother.
Unfortunately, Natasha did not know how to live outside the caring environment of
the home and soon got up to mischief. It was no problem for her to get out of
the house, walking with her crutches land up in the dark parts of town and
become a victim of abuse. Her poor
mother was finding this tough as a single
parent who had to work to pay the rent, was stressed about the wondering
Natasha.
Together we phoned the sisters at the home, and they agreed that Natasha could
return. Yesterday, her mother took her
back to the Mother Theresa home. Now we keep praying that she will once again,
learn to accept that life on the streets is difficult, horrible and dangerous.
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| At Mother Theresa Home |
In closing,
I still maintain that Natasha has spent her entire life alone, abandoned and traumatized.
She has never had any formal education or love from family. Her whole life has
been one of survival and intimidation.
Rejection does have serious consequences,
and however much Natasha has messed up her life, I still believe that her
traumatic childhood, the rape, the drug lords,
and abandonment have affected her
mentally. She really does not understand
the severity of the situation. She does not know how to survive anymore. She is
shoved from one place to another, rejected, abused and mentally incapable of
knowing the difference between right and wrong. is. She is like a child, lost
and alone.
