Cholera kills three from Hammanskraal family

Dineo Zomba lost three close family members to cholera in one week, and lives in fear she might be next.

Struggling to hold back tears, the Hammanskraal resident told how her grandmother and aunt had died on the same day. Two days after their combined funeral, she watched her father's condition deteriorate as they waited in a hospital queue for six hours. He died soon after being admitted.

“This feels like a nightmare,” she told the Sunday Times. “I wish someone could wake me and this was just a bad dream. I can't believe what has just happened, it's hard to accept,” she said. 

Her 93-year-old grandmother, Maria, and 73-year-old aunt, Rebecca, died after contracting cholera on May 16. Now she is making arrangements for the funeral of her father, Jankie, 58, who died on Monday.

“I am living with so much fear right now as I wonder if I am next.” 

She said her relatives had only consumed water delivered by a tanker.

“My aunt called to let me know that granny is not well. This was on Mother’s Day [May 14]. She said granny had a terrible runny tummy but she had prepared a homemade rehydration solution for her. We agreed we would take her to the doctor the next day.

“On Monday, she looked weak and we decided to take her to Jubilee Hospital, and she was admitted,” Zomba said.

The following day her aunt developed diarrhoea and stomach cramps and was also taken to hospital.

“While waiting in the queue for casualty, my aunt sadly passed away, and a few minutes later we received a call informing us that granny has also passed away.

“I can’t explain the heartache and what I felt. I lost two women who played an important role in raising me. We were still trying to understand their sickness and we honestly thought it was a minor ailment and they would recover.”

On Friday, a day before the funeral, Zomba's father started complaining about diarrhoea.

“He told us it’s not too bad and said he’ll go to the clinic or hospital after burying his mother and sister. He said he wanted to make sure everything ran smoothly, and he did so. He is the one who was running about making arrangements. 

“On Sunday he was feeling much better, but on Monday morning he was not feeling well, so we took him to Jubilee Hospital.

“When we arrived, we couldn't believe our eyes. The casualty was so packed, there were sick people all over the wards. We arrived about 8am and he was only attended to after 2pm, and passed away a few hours later.

“I feel that he could have been saved if he had received medical attention immediately. The staff knew that he was possibly infected with cholera as the previous week he had brought his mom and sister, who both died. They should have attended to him with urgency. We did try to explain, but they didn't want to listen.”

Zomba said it was heartbreaking to see her father's health deteriorate while they were waiting for assistance. 

“When we arrived, he was talking and we were busy conversing, but as time went on, he started to struggle to talk and breathe. It is the most painful picture that I can't remove from my memory.”

Zomba said her father, grandmother and aunt lived together, close to her home. Though they had a tap in the yard, they were not using it as the water quality was poor. “We only used the tap water for laundry, bathing and flushing our toilets.”

She said she was not sure when the truck last delivered water to them, but says her aunt and father had told her they had a delivery in the week they fell ill. 

Asked about the delay in Zomba's father's treatment, Gauteng health spokesperson Motalatale Modiba said that when nurses identify that a patient is dehydrated, they give them fluids immediately before they are seen by a doctor.

Zomba was her father's only child and her grandmother's only grandchild. She is pregnant and said they had been excited about the baby's arrival.

“I can't believe that we are preparing for another funeral this week.”

Zomba said she only drinks bottled water now, and though the City of Tshwane has offered to send a tanker with clean water, she doesn't trust it will be safe to drink.