Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
New mom lucky to survive Covid and lung transplant
AFTER a gruelling 113-day battle with Covid-19 which saw her become the first South African with the virus to receive a lung transplant, Mbali Mtiyane celebrated her recovery with a shopping trip this week.
“She was not able to walk for so many months, so this was the first time that she went shopping for a new Easter outfit,” her husband, Sizwe, said this week.
After praying for the survival of his newborn daughter and wife, the Winchester Hills man is looking forward to spending some quality time with his family this weekend.
“The whole experience was a very challenging and emotional time, but with God and the support of my family, we managed to pull through,” he said.
The 27-year-old Mtiyane was pregnant with her daughter when she contracted the novel coronavirus.
“We still don’t know where she got it from, because we didn’t go anywhere because my wife was pregnant.”
But, on November 24, Mtiyane was shocked to discover that she had tested positive.
“Her doctors admitted her to Parklane Hospital immediately, but after a week her condition deteriorated and a decision emergency done.”
The couple’s daughter, Kuhlekayise, arrived two months premature and also had to spend time in hospital.
Meanwhile, her mother’s lung capacity continued to worsen and she was transferred to Milpark Hospital where doctors discovered that she had Covid-pneumonia.
Cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Martin Sussman explained that the young mother had to be taken straight from the ambulance into theatre, where she was placed on extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), which artificially maintains a supply of oxygen to the brain and other vital organs for patients who require either or both respiratory and cardiac support.
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“ECMO is an artificial lung and the circuit does the work of the lungs, and that is how we kept Mbali alive,” Sussman said.
During this time, Mtiyane was put in an induced coma for almost two months and was unable to see her newborn daughter.
This procedure was not as successful as doctors had hoped, and a decision was made for her to receive a lung transplant, the first of its kind for the country, and in Africa.
Sizwe said while mom and baby are in good health, his wife still needs physiotherapy sessions as she spent months in a coma, not moving her body. But he added that she was looking forward to enjoying the simple things, like quality time with her daughter, shopping and visiting loved ones.