Cape Town - After living through every parent’s worst nightmare when she found her toddler floating lifelessly in the pool, Chantelle Bothma was grateful to be celebrating her son Lucas's second birthday on May 19.
After a mammoth fight for survival involving teamwork from healthcare teams at two hospitals and the critical helicopter medical transfer between the facilities, doctors described Lucas as a miracle child.
“On 28 December, I was making Lucas a bottle and talking to my daughter. I did not think he could open the big heavy gate in the kitchen – there was no reason to think he wasn’t safe,” Chantelle recalled.
“A moment later, I looked for him and thought he was with my mother.
“Then I saw the gate was slightly open. I found him floating face down in the pool. I thought he was gone. I was beside myself. My first reaction was to shout out to God for His help. We rushed Lucas to the local hospital in Emalahleni while I did CPR, but there was no life. I just prayed,” she said.
“The doctors at Cosmos Hospital resuscitated Lucas, although he was not breathing for himself. They prepared us that there could be brain damage and referred him to Netcare Garden City Hospital for the specialised care he needed.”
Dr Palesa Monyake, a paediatric intensivist practising at Netcare Garden City Hospital, said Lucas was on maximum respiratory therapy as he was not breathing on his own.
“Lucas is a miracle child; I will never forget him. Neurologically, we were very worried about Lucas as it wasn’t clear how long he was in the water, and he had to be resuscitated several times. In the end, all our prayers were answered, and he came through it all,” Dr Monyake said.
Lucas was placed under neuro-protection, which includes keeping the person in a medically induced coma and with targeted temperature control, reducing brain metabolism to protect the brain.
Dr Monyake said Lucas was resuscitated twice in the Paediatric ICU, and doctors thought they were going to lose him.
“Our paediatric ICU nurses are incredible. We are like a family, and our patients become part of our family. Each one of our nurses is a pillar of strength but united. They are a force to be reckoned with. Even when I am not physically at my patient’s bedside, the nurses are my eyes and ears 24/7, and they keep me constantly updated.
“Chantelle and her mother had such amazing faith throughout. Even though by then I had to hand Lucas’ care over to a colleague, we were so invested in the child’s outcome.
“We prayed together that the results of the MRI would come back normal – lo and behold, it did. A few days later, he had an electroencephalogram (EEG) to check the electrical activity of his brain. Again, the results came back normal – confirming he would make a full recovery, which really did not seem possible just a week before.”
Bothma says Lucas has made a full recovery and has a love of gospel music.
“God was really there for us. We could not have asked for better doctors and nurses, and we are so humbly grateful for their hard work. Today, Lucas is running and playing like there has never been anything wrong with him. I am so grateful for the doctors and nurses, as well as the flight team for looking after him so well.”
Cape Times