Update 19

These two ladies made the news in Europe recently. It appears that whenever they are out and about in town, the rate of motor accidents by men drivers increases by as much as 15%!!!! - ED
Now there's a dress made just for Claudine! - ED



Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Dear friends / Readers

Claudine has been able to bath herself for the past week. it's a big step forward for her. Her balance is her biggest problem, but she uses the walker till the bath, then holding onto any and every thing in sight, manages to get herself into the bath. Once in the bath she can help herself, including shaving - even though it's very shaky (but it's a good exersise for her motor functions), and she can get out, once again using anything / everything she can find to hold onto, till she gets onto the bath rim. Then, slowly, she manages to get her legs out, and up onto the walker and then into a chair so that she can complete the drying off process, and get dressed.

Around the house she uses only the walker, and every now and then tries to walk unassisted. Step by little step, all along a wall, to the stairs, then upstairs to the first floor, and I follow bringing the walker for her. However, when we go out, she still uses the wheel chair.

Her right arm, which was "lame" is now working much better. Still slow, but there is a lot of progress. Sometimes I need to remind her that she has a right arm! Claudine tends to do everything with her left arm, and that's the arm that shakes the most! Then we have "incidents", as we had again today. When we are finished at therapy / rehab, we go to the restaurant to wait for her Dad, and whilst we wait, we order something. She ordered a "Eiskaffee", what we call in South Africa a coffee-float. # balls of ice-cream in a big glass, over which they pour ice cold coffee, and on top, cream and chocolate flake sprinkles!! (ED - sounds damn fine!) She is crazy about them, and so it's her treat.
When she got hers today, she picked it up with her left hand (the seriously shaky one), and with her first sip she choked! - which she still does often, and her arm jerked, and knocked the glass over. The whole lot was spilled over her nice clothes, and onto the bench and floor! And the glass fell and shattered on the floor! So, these things do happen, but it's still bad for her when it does.

Apart from this, they do a lot of exercise with her arms, as I requested it. She still does not have proper use of her arms. It's very slow going, and she can't even comb / brush her own hair. Her right arm can't get up high enough, or far back enough, to reach.

her memory is so much improved!!! She can't remember the last year of her life before the accident. She can't remember her brothers wedding. It's still very strange for her to think she has a sister-in-law in Australia, especially whenever we talk to them on Skype. But, she has no memory from about Std.8. Some bits and pieces here and there maybe. She has a "view" of the overall picture, like some teachers, and the time she worked at Foreign Affairs - most of who she worked with. Of Kimberley she has a good memory of all of you guys, but has no recollection of the house on the farm where she was staying. Claudine remembers Johan from when they went out in Pretoria - but not of their love from shortly before they were to be married. For me it's a blessing in disguise, because I don't think she would be able to cope if she had to remember all those beautiful moments, day after day. She does not cry as much for Johan as she used to, but the photo album is so worn already from her looking through it every day / night till she fell asleep. I have now made her put it away in her cupboard. It was really making her very depressed.

Short term memory:- That which she couldn't remember from the day before, she now has a very good recall of! And it's getting better all the time. The Neurophysiologist gives her stuff to read that would be of interest to her, and then, the next day asks her questions about the piece she had to read..... and she's doing very well! With anything mathematical she's doing very, very well!

Her speech is much improved. You can understand every word she says, no longer the slurred, un formed words of a few weeks / months ago (ED- See previous note on speech). She still speak in "monotone", but very clearly. (ED - I think the ability to accentuate words so as to get expressive speech is learned as we go along, so she will soon learn this as well!)

Her therapists / Doctors are also doing some test work on her, which is not commonly done as yet. Brain stimulation. I'm very grateful of the opportunity, but they need to be very careful, as they are working with the brain, and don't want anything to go wrong. They stimulate the places where the machine shows, using magnetic resonance, that there is a form of damage, as a result of the accident. (ED- could be torn / cut / bruised....), and where the normal function of flow of information is disrupted. They stimulate the area, and the theory is that they want to get thocse cells "working" again, as they may only be "dormant", so that the messages can once again flow through to the nerves and the rest of her body.

She has only had two of these sessions, and already her "tested response speed" has improved by 25 seconds! This is the ability to perform certain functions within a specified time. She was tested before the first session, and again following each one. I'm keen for them to move the stimulation down to the brain stem, as this is where most of the damage was done which affects her "Ataksie", and which is her biggest problem which is preventing her walking, and causing balance problems. But, we will leave that in the hands of the Lord, and pray that He will decide whet the process should be from here.....

Her "stiff" neck is all but repaired! She used to walk a bit like a goose !(LOL - ED), with her head forward and down. It's mostly due to the big neck operation she had, and the muscles that got tight after the operation, and she still had continued pain where they had operated. Well, the pain is much reduced, and the muscles are getting much better. They did warn us that she would probably lose up to 50% of her neck movement, especially to the left and right. But we have healed this through prayer!!! The Lord is truly incredible!!! You can almost no longer see that she has a neck problem, and cant turn her head as far right or left as we can. Every Thursday she gets a special massage of / for the neck, and it's done her the world of good.

We have made her as comfortable as possible here at home. She has a massive room which is now fitted out like a little apartment. She has her own TV, music system,, etc. She's very happy with it, and we just have to keep getting her DVD's and CD's. But don't for a minute think she's not driving us crazy with wanting to return to South Africa!!! She actually believes she can go back alone, and be able to cope! She does not realise that there is no way she could cope alone. She can't even make herself a cup of coffee, as the jerking of her arm could cause her to spill the boiling water all over herself! She cries a lot, especially when she starts with " You all don't understand that I will get better quicker,, and will be happier if I was back home....".

She's very lonely. I can see it again today. The poor therapists are all the conversation she gets. She has no one of her age to talk to, and no one from South Africa who invites us around to visit either. So she just wants to talk to the therapists all the time, and they need to get their work done as they only have her for 45 minutes.

Wow, that's a lot of information. We are making progress, slowly but surely. It's still a long road ahead, but with Gods help we will see through this terrible "season" in our lives.

Love to all, Alta

Update 18

Peace Johan, Here's to a Son, brother, fiance, and friend who can never be forgotten.

From: Tina van der Merwe
Friday, July 31, 2009

25 JULY 2009

All the children were at the farm. Marius went out to find a rock that would suit Johan. He went to the area where there are bushman paintings, and selected a rock which the bushmen had used to sharpen their arrows, or make tools or weapons.The Bushman Rock - with 2009 engravings - very appropriate for Johan

Mother then used a stencil to write on the rock, and Marius then engraved the words into the rock, in English, Afrikaans, and Italian. Marius then placed the rock, to indigenous grasses, and a cactus plant at the grave.
After that, we all went to the grave together, and had a Black Label with Johan. Marius read to us the past poem he had sent to Johan.

It was a nice day.
Lots of love, and greetings,
Tina

Stand back, Marius, and admire your labour of love
All together, proudly

Quietly, together, pensive, sad, proud

Dad Fanie, "I miss you so much Johan, and will always be so proud of who you were, and how we loved. Rest in peace my boy - Mag die Here jou seen"


I think I can hear Uncle Johan laughing.....

Together, A Black Label for "Die Arend"

He won't mind, we always rode on his back....

Just family

Now it's so pretty, just like Uncle Johan would have wanted it

All the children were there - and Mom And Dad


Rest in peace Johan. You have made your mark on this earth, and if we are not wrong, are busy making your mark in Heaven. We are sad, and yet happy at the same time. We have each other for support, and know that you are there with us, every minute of every day.
We miss you
Ons verlang
Ci manci tanto

Update 17

Saturday, July 04, 2009 10:43 PM (ED - working late at night)

Dear Fanie, Marleen, Tina and family

Fanie, thank you for your sms to Claudine, I heard about it yesterday, and that you asked that we give you an update on her status. I do so with pleasure.

Claudine now has 2x/week full day therapy sessions. Every day was very expensive, and it tired us both out. The center is an hour's drive from where we live. Henko cannot take us as it would make him at least 2 hours late for work, in the mornings, and he would have to leave the office an hour early every afternoon to fetch us, and this is not possible.

In the mornings we go in, a "patient-taxi" collects us at the house. The trip itself is also no fun. The drivers are very bad, and the one time the driver drove so wild that Claudine was sick, and you can just think...... Another time the driver was again so rough that Claudine fell of the seat!! before I could catch her,( this due to her struggling with her balance), and she cut her foot on something on the taxi floor. Back home, as I helped her out of the car into her wheelchair, I noticed the blood on her foot, and that's when she told me something had cut her when she fell between the cars seats. Henko kicked up a big stink with the owner of the company that runs this taxi service, and the owner repeatedly apologised for the conduct of his drivers. He eventually offered us 5 free trips to the clinic (they charge 30 Euro per day = approx. R300), and now he sends a special driver to collect us, who drives properly!

Rehab, full day was costing us R40,000-00. We had so many expectations and were so disappointed once the first month had passed, with all Claudine's hard work, and she still couldn't walk. In fact, to us it didn't seem as if there was much progress at all. But I know we just have to keep going on and trying. I will explain her situation in detail now, as I continue.

Walking:-
She manages to take small steps, without any assistance. Only in the house though, where the floor is even / level. Otherwise, she walks with the walking frame, indoors. When we leave the house, it's still in the wheelchair. We just have to be close by when she does walk, else she may lose her balance, then it's grab and hold, till she regains her balance. The biggest factor here is the Ataxia. (ED - 'Ataxia' means ‘absence of order’. People with ataxia have problems of co-ordination. This is because parts of the nervous system that normally control co-ordination and balance are affected. Ataxia is the principal symptom of a group of neurological disorders called the cerebellar ataxias. Most are progressive.) It has become a swear word in our lives, as it's the cause for all of her problems. It's what causes the shaking, and jerking. It's due to one of the injuries that she sustained on her brain stem. If you look it up on the internet, you will see that it is said it's irreversable. I belive, and make a statement, that the Good Lord can heal this. When she walks, it's like a person that has a stiff leg. The 'message" from the brain seems to come through very slowly, she takes a step, and then seems to freeze foe a second or two, then the message gets to her other leg, and she takes the next step.

Arms:-
Claudine's right arm, which was "paralysed", is coming along nicely. It moves slowly, but we encourage her to use it more and more to eat with, and take things with. It's interesting that the right arm does not shake / jerk when she puts food into her mouth, where her left arm, which is the one that is most "useable" jerks so much that most of the food falls off of the fork before she can get it into her mouth, and then she messes and bursts into tears! She can't comb her own hair because of the condition of her arm is so jerky, and she can't lift her right arm high enough to comb her hair with it. I still have to help her with brushing her teeth, else the jerking causes her to damage / hurt her gum's..... But, we practice every day. She is trying to be as independent as possible, and we encourage her. Even though it takes her longer, she has to go to the bathroom on her own in the morning, and everything she is capable of doing on her own, she must do. I still have to help her into the bath, and then help her out, and dry her off. Then I help her get dressed, however, she does get dressed "on her own", with much difficulty. And I help her to do the buttons, zips, etc.

Eyes:-
Claudine still has double vision. it's part of the damage to her brain, and I have read that a Dr. Duim says it can come right. It's a problem, because Claudine keeps closing one eye so that she can focus, and it does not look good. What I have noticed in Claudine before the accident, and after... in her eyes - She had the most beautiful eyes, but now it's as if one eye is a bit smaller than the other, and the colour of her eyes is "dimmed" (no sparkle - ED). Almost "heartsore" eyes.

Face:-
The nerves in the left hand side of Claudine's face have been damaged. We make a point of keeping her aware of the fact that she needs to smile, (and she smiles so nice - ED) . She tends to smile on one side of her face (as you may see in some of the photo's), then we need to tell her to smile on the other side as well! and then she does, and she smiles nicely ( I said so!! - ED). Her speech therapist is making a special effort to assist with this and correct the problem.

Memory:-
Her memory is still a big problem. However, it's much better than it was 3 months ago. Where she was blank about events spanning years at a time, or, couldn't even remember what we had done the day before, she now has a good recall of a lot of events. It takes a small thing that she might see, and it's as if a bell rings, and the memories come back. For example, she couldn't remember that she had worked for Foreign Affairs. The other day, an new employee started to work here (an African), and he came over to greet her. He did get a bit of a fright when he realised how much she had changed from the beautiful young Claudine he had worked with, to this young lady in a wheelchair... Back home, Henko asked her if she remembered working with Paul (that's his name), in her department. And she said no, he didn't work with her, but in another department (which she named) and in another building (which she also named!). Henko was surprised, and asked if she can suddenly remember working there, and she said yes. When he asked Claudine who worked with her, she was able to name everyone who was with her in her department! We were ecstatic, as this meant that that specific "file/folder" in her brain was once again open / active! And with it any events around her life at that time. The most of her memory is of you all (The van der Merwe family - ED). It's pretty obvious that you were the most important people in her life at the time. But she has no recollection of the little farm house where she stayed with Johan. She remembers Skollie and Lappies, but she thought that they were our dogs, and not hers in Kimberley.

ED - then a personal part of the letter, addressed to Tina specifically, which I translate more to show the suffering that Claudine has to endure:-

Tina, I did respond to your email request, with telephone number, and I did say that I would let Claudine call you. But, when I said that we should call you so that you two could chat, she just burst into tears. She says you wont be able to hear / understand her, and so even though she really would want to talk to you, she feels it wouldn't work, so she will rather continue to sms you.

Speech:-
Her speech is greatly improved, but still monotone. But you can hear properly what she's saying, even if it is in monotone. On a telephone it would be very unclear, and she still struggles to dictate a full sentence, and breaks the sentence up into pieces. She puts a lot of effort into her speech therapy, because she's now in the habit that instead of talking, because she's shy, to rather "talk" with her hands. When someone greets her, at the clinic, she just waves back. If they ask her how she's doing, she just gives them a thumbs up. I keep telling her to rather talk, instead of "showing".


Cognitive -related knowledge-power, knowing the ability to know regarding the knowledge-related
As Claudine will say when we underestimate he "There is nothing wrong with my brain!" and we just laugh! A lot! But it's true. People tend to underestimate because of the way she speaks, and looks, but there is actually nothing wrong with her thinking. She has retained her sense of humor, and understands 100%. Her mathematical capability is 100%, and the tests she has to do for this are perfect. She may say "childish" things at times, but it's so honest!

Neck:-
I am a bit worried about her neck. After the neck operation, she was still bed ridden in the hospitalised for 3 months, and no therapist ever came to her for neck exersises after she began to sit up again. Now the neck muscles have become stiff. What's worse is that we don't know if this is permanent, because the doctor that did the operation did say that she would lose about 50% of her neck movement. And it's just that. She cannot look sideways, but has to turn her whole body to look to the side. However, the fact that she walk with her head slightly forward makes me wonder if it's her neck muscles that have stiffened, or if that's how the doctor set her neck. At the time he did say that he could not use screws and plates to fix her neck, due to the presence of an artery where the injury was, and he had to "fix" Claudine's neck with wire!?! I wonder if he did a nice / neat job, due to:- After he had finished operating on her, he left the hospital immediately. He didn't come to see us to give us any feedback. ((He was brought in from another facility due to his knowledge of such injuries. Her neck was completely severed (the spine - ED) at the brain.) And when she was transferred to Meulmed hospital, when he saw her again, that he said to me he didn't think that she would live..... She complains about neck pains all the time.

Mood:-
She has her up and down days. But it's me that bears the brunt of it. If I don't respond immediately when she calls, she gets very cross, at me. She's also very worried about her walking. it's probably the one most important thing she wants to be able to do. She prays, and begs daily that her "jerking" should go away. Claudine so desperately wants to be "normal". She desperately wants to get on with her life, and even return to South Africa. She is very, very lonely here. She has no one else to talk to but us. Even the therapist which she sees twice a week, she does not get a chance to talk to, as they begin immediately with the routine, as soon as she goes in. Everything is in German, so she can't even understand the menu's when we go out. It's really very hard for Claudine. Whenever she starts to think about Johan, she starts to cry. Sometimes, whilst driving to the therapists, I'll see her crying.

Weight:-
Claudine is very self conscious about her weight. She has picked up weight, but it's unfortunately due to the sitting in the wheelchair, and the exersises that she does do are not such that it would help with weight loss. But, we now have her on a diet.

There - now I have given you a full overview on the current status. We continue to encourage her, and Claudine does her best. Yesterday she said she wondered if she would ever be able to drive a car again. So I said, let's go - now. Luckily I drive a small Smart, and it's automatic, so we went out with her. I drove out of the property, into the road, and she got in behind the wheel, and we let her drive a few kilometers. At the back of our property is a forest, and there is a road there used mainly by pedestrians for their leasure. In spite of the fact that it's a left hand drive car, and that we drive on the wrong side of the road here, she did very well! Obviously with one eye closed so that she could focus, but her reflexes were very good. I was watching for it because I know that after a brain injury, reflexes can take years to restore. (If ever - ED) She drove very slowly, but perfectly! When we told her to remember to stop upfront, so that we can check if there are any cars coming, she replied "Yes, I know"... and stopped neatly on the correct spot. That little drive did her the world of good. It gave her a lot of confidence, and she wanted to practice some more when we got home.

Fanie, we want to thank you so much for the fact that you are still paying Claudine her salary. (Well done Fanie, we are so proud of you, and to be associated with someone of your caliber - you will be blessed over and over... ED). We really do not expect to get it. We know that times are tough right now for everyone, and that business is not good, anywhere. But thank you very much, again. We are still looking into the Road Accident Fund. Massimo got us a contact with a firm of lawyers that specialise in this, and we are in contact with them. We told them that we had previously been in touch with other lawyers, who had told us that we could not submit a claim as there was no other vehicle involved. (That does not sound right to me - ED). But these guys are willing to submit a claim on our behalf. Being overseas, however, presents a bit of a problem, but we will cross those bridges as and when we get to them. Remember that the road fund have their own panel of doctors who will want to see the patients themselves. Not sure how we manage that. Another fear of ours is that we have to pay for the consultations with these doctors ourselves. You can say that you can recover these costs from a successful claim, if it's successful, but you still need to lay out the money upfront. I know the doctors charge between R2000-00 to R5000-00 per consultation, and report, for the Road Accident Fund. We just not sure what to do. She will have to see a Neurologist, Orthopedic Surgeon, Neurophysiologist, and Surgeon for reports.

Attached are a few recent photos.
Lots of love to you, and all your loved one's.
Alta
ED - Claudine and the Smart car (for a smart girl....!) She does have a damn fine smile! - ED

ED - Doing the tourist thing - Dark shades and all - I must say it looks lovely there.
ED - Working out - you can see the determination on her face! You go girl!!
Ed - And finally, taking those small uneasy steps. Brings to mind a quote - "One small step for man, one giant step for mankind". Claudine - I'm not sure if Mom reads this blog back to you, or if you read it for yourself, but from all of us here in South Africa, we miss you stacks, we are very proud of the effort you are making to get better. We "know" your pain, even if we have not had the misfortune to experience it, but can live it with you through the pictures, and the letters. I believe you are a miracle child, and there is a reason for all of this. We can only wait, and pray that whatever the reason is will be presented to us soon, and that your healing process will be speeded up.
God Bless - you, your Mom & Dad

Update 16

Latest from Alta
Wednesday, June 10, 2009 11:03 PM

Just a quick note before I go to bed (ED-11.03 pm!!). Just to say hello, and share some photo's with you.

The photo where Claudine is standing in the house is where we and doing her therapy at home, and this week she started taking small steps unaided.It's very slow progress, and takes a lot of concentration, but she so badly wants to walk!!

The little dog with her is her dog, who's always with her, Gizmo is Claudine's shadow, and it's good for her.

The other photo's are of a castle we visited recently on a Sunday, just for a day out. It's a little way from where we live.(Ed - Claudine - jy bly 'n pragtige meisie - moenie moed opgee nie, met die hulp van jou ouers, en jou Here sal jy oowin!!! (Claudine - you are still a beautiful lady - don't give up. With the help of your parents and your lord you will suceed!))
ED - Hey, great stuff - you get to "ride" around a castle! Wow, we don't even get to see one.....
ED - What a beautiful sight - oh, and there's nothing wrong with the castle of fountain either!!!

Claudine gets very depressed at times, especially when we do things like "Brain Gym", and she has to read words for her speech therapy, then she starts to cry. I don't know what more to do. She understands her current situation, but cries because she has to relearn everything like a baby, and she finds it very embarrassing.

Then she says she wishes she would die, and does not want to live like this anymore. It's so difficult for all of us, but then we get a second breath, and carry on.

Please pray for her, and that her spasmodic shakes, and jerks will go away.
if she can just walk properly, and regain the use and control of her arms, it would be such an improvement. Whenever she want to touch something, she knocks it over, or shakes so much she cant pick it up. It really depresses her.

Claudine says she's missing Tina terribly, and that she sent her an sms, on one of her off days, and I hope is didn't upset Tina and her family.
her moods come and go, but we keep trying to cheer her up.
Love to all.... Alta

Editor - Claudine, I know your mom will read this to you. She's a very special blessing in your (and our) lives. Whatever she does with regards to your therapy, you must know it's for your own good, and because she wants to help you get better. Form me, far away here in South Africa, I am delighted to see the photo's of you looking so good, strong, beautiful. We really miss you, and wish there was some way we could "just pop in for a visit!".
As for your mood swings, we all understand, and feel for you. It's probably part of your healing process. You get depressed, then you decide to beat it, and next time you try a little harder. Don't give up - you have so many people out there who are praying for you, who love you, and who are looking forward to spending many more happy years with you.
For your sake, for your Mom and Dad, and finally for all of us - prove to the world that you can beat this - you will walk and talk and laugh and play - like we know you can. Lots of love and kisses and a big hug - South Africa!!!

Update 15

As at 15 May
Hallo Tina
Thank you for your letter. I would be lying if i said all's well. I am so tired, and so stressed...
Oh, it feels as if I have lost my life. It's been 10 months that every day I have either been in a hospital, or a rehab center, somewhere. I just don't have a life anymore.

Every moring we go to the rehab, get back at 5 in the afternoon. Then I bath Claudine, and get her into her nightdress, and she goes and watches TV.
But it doesn't stop there for me. I still have to jump whenever she "ma, ma"......
I am sooo very tired..
Next week is the last week of every day rehab therapy. Thereafter it's 2 x per week. Unfortunately, I can't say that this intensive therapy has made any differance / shown any improvement. But maybe I need to look at the bigger picture, and and hope that it will eventually pay off.
Claudine spends a lot of time practising to walk, or at least trying to. She gets up off of the wheelchair, and takes 2 - 3 steps, little ones, and then holds onto anything she can. She still has her off days, when she wishes she was dead, and does not want to live beaciuse of how she looks...

Regards to your Johan, and a special hallo and hug from Claudine to Ayla please.
We will never forget how special she was with Claudine "that" weekend

Lots of love
Alta

Update 14

Sent: Thursday, April 30, 2009 10:33 PM

Thank you so much for all the emails we received this week. I really appreciate it. Please excuse me if I do not respond immediately, but it's been a bit of a difficult week.
Claudine started with her rehab on Monday, and luckily tomorrow is a public holiday, because neither Claudine, nor I have the strength for another day of it this week.

Early in the morning we catch a "minibus" that takes us to the rehab clinic. It's an hours drive through the city. Following our arrival, Claudine has a session every hour with the PhysioTherapist, Occupational therapy ,Speech Therapist, neurophysiologist and Hydro Therapist in the pool.
Lunch time she has a good balanced meal, ans at least it's an hours rest. But believe me, when that minibus collects us at 4pm to take us back home, she is exhausted!! Then it's peak hour traffic, and like tonight, it's 6pm by the time we get back home.

It's very taxing on me too, as I am also very tired by the time we get back home, and then I have to bath Claudine, as I know that later on I just wont have the strength. So, by the time I have finished with Claudine, it's nearly 8pm, and then I still have to do a bundle of washing, or there is some place in the house that needs my attention.

Henko makes supper, and cleans up afterward. Then we prepare the clothes for tomorrow morning, and get Claudine into bed, or she wont get enough rest for the next day.
But I still make sure I read my emails every night, and then reply as soon as I can. If I see something that needs my immediate attention, I do it. Believe me, I wont put any of you onto the backburner...!

This week was full of tension, and adjustments. We were very worried about it all, but the Lord is dedicated, and carries us. The therapists speak with broken English, but at least well enough that Claudine can understand them, and what they want of her. It's a very big, modern institution, with about 50 therapists of all sorts, and they have fantastic, modern equipment, and to very good work. it's a tough program for Claudine, but I can safely say that after just 4 days of therapy Claudine has a lot more confidence with walking, and walks very well alone with the 'walker". She's also doing well with her right arm. Slowly, but she keeps trying.

Her moods go up and down. She keeps saying that maybe she should rather have died, because of how she looks now . She takes a lot of her frustrations out on me, and it's difficult for me to keep absorbing it.....
Whenever she looks at her photos from before the accident she tends to get very stressed, and asks if I think she will ever fully recover, and will be able to walk, and be normal..... Evey night, when we do evening prayers she prays hard to the Good Lord and begs him to heal her. It's so heart breaking.....

Percy, we really miss you a lot!! Your motivation, every day for Claudine, and your love and prayers for her, for everything that worries her....... You will always be her pastor, and her friend.

Missing you all... and thank you for really caring...
Love
Alta

Update 13

Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2009 2:11 PM
Subject: Feedback on the rehab....

I know you all are eager to know if we managed to make an arrangement today with regards the rehab, and so I'm taking this opportunity to let you know how it went.

We went to the Neurological Rehab Clinic called "Rosenhugel" (Nice name isn't it?)
All the forms were completed, and they took us to where we need to go every morning to get her daily program, and from there you need to ensure tat you go to each of the therapists in turn, as indicated on your program.
To start with Claudine gets a full 3 - course meal, and throughout the day she has access to the cafeteria where she can get appels, and coffee / tea. Then we had to wait for the neurologist, as he is the first to evaluate her, and who then forwards his recommendations to the therapists.

But then he read her Neurological report which we had brought with from Pretoria, and he realizes how badly she was hurt, and how many injuries Claudine actually suffered, and, amongst all this, he sees that whilst in ICU in Kimberley, she caught the MRSA virus, and was transferred with this to PTA, and put into isolation.... I explained, in short, what the MRSA virus was (sorry Karien and Wiebren, I know you would have done it better), but is comes down to the fact that it's a bacterial virus - which very few people survive! It is contagious, and hospitals are seriously scared of it... Claudine was on 3 of the strongest antibiotics simultaneously, and still the doctors said her chances of surviving was minimal (ED's note :- they don't know our Claudine / and our Lord and Savior!)
When we arrived in PTA. is was clear that was no more medication that could be given to her, and we had to get antibiotics from France, and all Honor and Praise to God, it brought her fever of 39/40 down after 4 weeks, and it helped.

So, once the doctor saw this on her report, he wouldn't even let her leave his consulting room! Needless to say, I told him that was last year, Aug/Sept!! But to o avail. She first had to immediately undergo tests to see if she would test negative. They started by contacting 2 major hospitals, to get them to admit her and do the tests - both said "No" - they declined on the basis that there was a risk to the hospital. In the end, he got hold of a micro-lab, which said he should take the samples himself, and send them in, and they would have the results in 3 days. He took the samples, and couriered them to the lab.

So, here we are, back home, all dressed up and nowhere to go!

The doctor was very proficient in English, but none of the therapists, or assistants were. I asked if they thought Claudine would be able to understand them, and they believe she will. I'll have to wait and see this, as how will she know what to do if she does not understand what they are asking oof her. They also said that I will have to accompany her every day, as Claudine is not able to walk unassisted from one place to the other, and I will have to push here around in the wheelchair, and assist her wherever she needs it.

I have a very good feeling about the place. It's very big, very nice, and very modern. It's well organised. We took Andrea with to help with the language / communication (She's from the Embassy), and she poined out how people were looking at us, and said we shouldn't worry about it. The reason for this was that we are perceived as "private" patients, and all of them get free assistance, as the state pays 100% for their medical aid.
And to top it up, they still have the communist mindset that says if you are a private patient, cash patient, you think you deserve better treatment - shame.... And to make matters worse, we even speak foreign, which is another passionate hate of theirs......
We are hoping to be able to start with the therapy early next week.....

ED Note - sorry I post this a bit late - have been off ill, and then all the public holidays and stuff....

Lastest Photo of our miracle child!

I received this photo today. It was sent to my contact locally today, so I can assume it was taken this past weekend.
She's looking so stunning!
Hope she's feeling as well as she looks.
Keep up the good work "Mom"!

Latest status - urgent appeal for assistance and advice

This is a translation of the latest communication received from Claudine's mom. It's really a sad and desperate situation they now find themselves in. I'm not sure what their options are, or what their status with regards being "foreigners", but there must be someone with advice,and possibly financial assistance available out there.
Anyone know how we can get a sponsorship from some tycoon? There must be someone out there who knows someone who we can approach for funding / assistance / sponsorship.....
Let's all dig deep into our contacts lists....


From: Alta Labuschagne
Sent: Friday, April 17, 2009 9:48 AM
Subject: Claudine rehab

If you have never seen us stressed before, then now is the time!
Claudine was supposed to start with rehab again on Tuesday. The rehab facility has just called to confirm, and to inform us that because we are foreigners, they want a deposit of R24,000.00!!!!! and their fees are R2,200.00 per day!!!!!

It's going to cost s more than henko earns per month!!!!!!

It is, in one word, totally and absolutely impossible for us. Oh, Oh, Oh, we are so fedup, and have used up all our resources. What to do??

It feels almost as if even prayer is not helping anymore. This problem can't even be wished away.....
Any advise??

Love
Alta

BANK DETAILS:

ABSA Kolonade
Colonade Centrum
Montanapark
Bank code: 632005
Bank acc 9211715269
AJ Labuschagne
SWIFT Code: ABSAZAJJ

Editors note:-
Alta, hou moed - keep the faith. I have no idea what you are going to do, or how, but I do know this. Claudine has been spared for a reason. Continue with the "home Therapy" based on what you have learned here in SA, and what the previous therapists did with her. That at least you know can continue. if nothing else, you can maintain her current status.

Then, lets pray that someone reads this blog, and comes forward with a financial offer to assit.

If anyone out there knows someone, please let us know. I am quite willing to put together the letter of request with all the motivation required.

You can email me on ma8xz@yahoo.com, or leave a comment here in this message.
Thanx

Update 12

As at 7 April 2009.

Editors note :- It's been way too long since we heard any news about Claudine (and her fantastic mom). However, I hope all / any readers of this blog are still coming by every now and then.
Herewith the latest update:-

Update as at 7 April 2009
Dear All,

here is some feedback / updates on Claudine.

She has been here a week, and she's doing well. Initially she was very depressed, and missed SA, and was quite heart sore about everything. And what made matters worse was the weather, it was still mostly dark, no sun, with snow and cold.... In the meantime the sun has come out, for the oast 5 days already!!! and all our humours and moods improved. (Even I spent 3 days crying, and it all became too much for me, as Claudine is a full time job, and I also have housekeeping, and the usual day to day chores to get through!)
Every day i do her brain and physio excersises with her, which we brought back from the Pta therapists.

Last Saturday we had an appointment with a professor in the Neurology re. further rehab for Claudine. The Prof was very impressed with her Progress to date. She had a look at the MR Brain, which was done soon after the accident, and then the latest one done in Pta, and she tested Claudine, and remarked "her recovery in this short time is remarkable" Praise the Lord! All honour to the Lord!

She has recommended a place where Claudine should now go for rehab. For the first month, Claudine has to attend every day, all day, and thereafter, 3x/week, full day. She's also going to find out about a local horse riding school, so that Claudine can continue with that therapy as well.

It's school break now, and Easter, so all the places are closed. We will probably have to start looking around only after the holidays. Delia also knows a person who does "Brain Gym" here in Weenen, ans will help us with that.

Claudine is walking well with the "walker", but only indoors. It's not possible outdoors, as she can't yet navigate across uneven surfaces due to her balance problem, and the "jerk" of her back when she gets up, a result of the damage to her brain stem. Henko walks with her every day after work, through the forest, in her wheelchair, for fresh air. She really enjoys these walks, and I take the little dogs with us, and she really enjoys them.

This weekend was beautiful sunshine, and spring is just around the corner. You can see, and hear, the little green leaves coming out all over, as well as the spring flowers.

We were able to take Claudine to the city, and she enjoyed that. The photo attached is taken of Claudine in the Stefansdom Church, a famous, and the oldest church in Weenen. (Built in 1140).

Which brings me to " Seasons".
The Lord spoke to me before we left Pretoria, about it now being a new season which we are entering. This would be literally and figuratively. Here, it's the beginning of spring.

For Claudine it's the start of a new phase of rehab, and we are doing all we can in this regard. For Henko and myself it's a new adaption to life, with here here, and we need to create / maintain a happy and comfortable lifestyle, for all of us.

We have new tasks, and have had to create new routines. Like a new season, everything has changed.

Please pray for our Blessing, and that the Lord will look after our needs (financial) so that we can achieve the milestones we now have before us, with the help we have available to us here.
The rehab is costing thousands, and thousands of rands. Please also pray for Claudine, for energy and will power to keep fighting back, and that the lord will guide her to the correct therapists, which hopefully can speak English, and so that she can understand them! (These Germans refuse to speak English,..... even the prof speaks broken English).

Thsank you very much for your unquestionalble and committed love, support and prayers.