Good Samaritan helps Angel
A three-year-old girl was rushed to hospital by Pinetown resident, Ivan Ikes, who answered the parent's call for help on a social media.
A GOOD deed by a Pinetown resident went viral on social media, following a post from a concerned parent needing help last Wednesday. Ivan Ikes was scrolling through social media around 9pm when he came across a post on the Upper Highway Info page saying: “are there any doctors/nurses in this group?”
“The post explained that Albert Karimwe and Bianca Mutami’s three-year-old daughter was experiencing high fever and that they needed help,” said Ikes.
“Many people responded saying they should take their daughter to the doctor. My immediate thought was ‘did they have transport?.
“So I asked him and he said no. I then asked for his number which he sent to me and I communicated with him through Whatsapp so I could get their address. I drove straight to their house in Mpola near Dassenhoek and found a couple with their daughter waiting for me just after 9.30pm.”
Ikes’ immediate thought was to take the little girl to a doctor. The family said they did not have medical aid or cash but Ikes said he would gladly pay for the child’s consultation. He drove to the doctor but the doctor’s rooms were closed.
He then drove to a pharmacy but they couldn’t help and the pharmacist said the little girl needed to be taken to the hospital.
“Knowing that the parents couldn’t afford the costs of a private hospital. I drove straight to King George Hospital in Durban. I had to lie to the hospital staff that the child lived up the road just so they could attend to her,” said Ikes.
He stayed with the little girl, Angel, and her parents until she was finally admitted in hospital before driving Albert back home to Mpola at 11.30pm. Ikes only arrived home after midnight.
Angel was discharged on Thursday evening and her mother, Bianca Mutami said she is getting better now.
Angel was diagnosed with malaria which she contracted during a family holiday in Zimbabwe from 19 December to 7 January.
“I am very grateful to Ivan for his help. He’s one in a million. When we posted the message on Facebook, we just wanted to find out from parents how to treat our daughter who had a high fever. Ivan offered to take us to the doctor and even pay for the consultation. The doctor wasn’t there but he drove us straight to a hospital to provide our daughter with the care she needed. He restored our faith in humanity,” said Mutami.
Ikes said 11 January was a significant date for him. “My son died on this date, and when I read the Facebook post that night asking for help, without a second thought, I knew I had to help,” said Ikes.
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