Coach recovering from rare form of meningitis
ON JUNE 20, Nicolaas Serfontein, a swimming teacher from Melkbosstrand, was rushed to the emergency room at Netcare Blaauwberg Hospital after his wife, Tina, struggled to wake him up.
Doctors soon realised after conducting two lumbar punctures and several tests, including multiple CT and MRI scans, that Serfontein had contracted a rare form of meningitis and was also experiencing kidney failure.
To save his life, the 36-year-old was put on a ventilator, placed in an induced coma for four days, and given a number of medications and drips.
While Serfontein has moved into a medical ward, after 20 days in ICU, doctors have predicted that his road to rehabilitation will be a long one due to the severe medical trauma that he has endured.
Serfontein will soon need to begin occupational therapy as well as physiotherapy to make a full recovery and continue living life to the fullest.
To assist him with his medical and living costs for the next couple of months, family member Zaren Knight launched a crowdfunding campaign on BackaBuddy to appeal to the public for support in raising R100 000 to help Serfontein get back on his feet after the traumatic and unexpected ordeal.
“Everyone knows Nicky as the kindest person with the biggest heart. He has a spirit of love and always puts others first. I always say that I’m a black-and-white (yes and no) person, and Nicky is all the beautiful colours in between. He is the love of my life, and he is loved by so many. He is always ready to help someone else, but right now he needs our help. Please stand with us in prayer as now, Nicky needs our help,” said Tina.
Since the launch of the campaign, more than R13 000 has been raised from kind contributions from 22 donors who have left warm messages of encouragement for Serfontein.
Knight, who is admittedly not a trained runner, ran over 20km, around the entire Swakopmund in Namibia on July 10 to raise funds for the campaign, pledging to donate R100 herself, for every kilometre that she completed.
To make a donation, visit https:// www.backabuddy.co.za/nicky-serfontein
Alternatively, make a donation via Snapscan: https://pos.snapscan.io/qr/ Nicky-serfontein