Girl, 3, recovers from head injury

A LITTLE girl who astonished healthcare professionals with her remarkable progress following a severe brain injury has, one year later, become a shining example of just what a difference rehabilitation can make to the developing brain.

Nhlelo Chauke, 3, was travelling home from a family visit in Limpopo in January last year when her mother’s vehicle was involved in an accident that left her totally unresponsive. Paramedics had to resuscitate her at the scene.

After three weeks spent fighting for her life at Netcare Montana Hospital, Nhlelo was transferred to Netcare Rehabilitation Hospital in Johannesburg.

According to Professor Andre Mochan, a neurologist practising at the paediatric unit of the rehabilitation facility, it was clear that Nhlelo had a long way to go in regaining brain functionality.

She had suffered a brain injury in which nerves and cells had been badly shaken, resulting in bleeding in multiple parts of the brain.

On arrival, she was completely non-communicative, had difficulty responding to visual stimuli and her movements were totally unco-ordinated. She was unable to sit up or hold up her head.

“Nhlelo’s scores were very low, but there were some hopeful signs, such as her ability to move her limbs and open her eyes,” Mochan said.

Nhlelo’s father, Mzamani Steven Chauke, recalled the relief he and his family felt as Nhlelo began to improve.

“At the time of the accident, I was still in Limpopo, as I was going to drive back home a couple of days after my wife who needed to return to work. I am a paramedic and when I received the call I didn’t even know if my little girl would make it through resuscitation.”

The father said he was at first told that Nhlelo had a very slim chance of survival. “There was nothing we could do but pray, and our prayers were truly answered.”

Charne Cox, Nhlelo’s physiotherapist, said they knew how difficult this time was for children. The paediatric unit at the rehabilitation hospital was specially geared towards making the children feel at home.

The team, which included an occupational therapist, speech therapist, social worker, psychologist, as well as nurses, all worked together to get the child functioning again.

It was a long process, which included correctly positioning her for swallowing her food and ensuring that her lungs were clear once the feeding had finished.

The therapy also involved the use of a tilt table to familiarise Nhlelo with the sensation of standing again, while an optometrists did visual stimulation exercises in a dark room to strengthen her eye muscles.

The speech therapist worked on imitating gestures to encourage Nhlelo to communicate by waving and smiling.

Originally Nhlelo had been booked into Netcare Rehabilitation Hospital for 12 weeks, but her progress was so exceptional that she was able to go home after just eight weeks.

Looking back, Chauke recalled that before the accident he had not realised the significance of Nhlelo’s second name, Confidence.

“At the time it was just a name that I chose but it came to have great meaning as our little Nhlelo has all the confidence she needs to take on and overcome life’s challenges,” he said.

Nhlelo was discharged in April last year and now, a year later, her father sees her recovery as a miracle.

“She attends creche every day and while she still has some difficulties with her balance, she is improving all the time.”

Mochan, meanwhile, said that each brain injury patient was different, and it was almost impossible to predict what the outcome may be in the rehabilitation process.

“We cannot force the brain to do things that it is not capable of doing, but it shows us what it can do during the treatment process,” Mochan said.

NHLELO Chauke, 3, has made a recovery after being involved in a car accident.