Covid-19 lung transplant survivor celebrates life

Lung transplant survivor Mbali Mbatha (27) was celebrated by nurses and doctors at Netcare Milpark as they wished her well when she was finally discharged from the hospital.

She recently left the facility to start what would be a very different life than what she led before.

The young mother from Winchester Hills, not only left the hospital with her three-month-old daughter whom she met for the first time, but she also left with a newly transplanted lung while overcoming one of the deadliest viruses of the 21st century.

Giving birth at 30 weeks via C-section

Her journey started more than 113 days prior, on November 2020, when the severely ill expectant mother was hospitalised to safeguard both her and her unborn child.

Mbatha’s condition, however, deteriorated, and in December 2020 her obstetrician was left with no choice but to deliver her baby at 30 weeks via emergency C-section.

“I was shocked when the doctor told me that he needed to prepare for a C-section and operate immediately. When I realised that I would not be able to carry full term I was devastated,” she said.

“I phoned my husband who helped me to calm down and said I must let them take the baby out as it would be best for us. All I remember is the cold, it was terribly cold in the operating theatre.

“I felt so alone because my husband could not be with me. It was a very distressing experience as I did not even see my baby. I just gave birth to my little girl and I passed out,” recalled Mbatha.

Waking up in hospital after two months

According to Mbali, her next memory after delivering her baby was waking up in Netcare Milpark Hospital, many weeks later.

“Sometime after I woke up, I was told that I had been in a coma for two months and that I had a lung transplant. In fact, it seemed that there was very little hope I would survive. Had it not been for the exceptional medical care I received and for the lung transplant, I would not be here today,” she says.

Dr Paul Williams, a pulmonologist intensivist at Netcare Milpark Hospital, said Mbali was brought to Netcare Milpark Hospital, shortly after she had her baby.

“She was in serious danger as both her lungs were affected from top to bottom with pneumonia and she was not extracting oxygen from the air. We immediately had to escalate her treatment to a more sophisticated form of care than what would generally be needed by most patients with Covid-19 pneumonia,” he said.

Cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Martin Sussman said Mbatha was in extremis and was taken straight from the ambulance into theatre, where she was placed on extracorporeal 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.

“ECMO is essentially an artificial lung. The circuit does the work of the lungs and that is how we kept Mbatha alive while she had Covid-pneumonia,” explains Dr Sussman.

“While she eventually recovered from Covid-19 her lungs did not recover. One of the complications of the virus is that it sometimes damages the lungs extensively. In Mbatha’s case, the damage was irreversible. Her only chance of survival was to receive a donor’s lung.”

Grateful for life

With what she has gone through for the past two months, Mbatha has left Netcare Milpark Hospital full of joy and good memories.

“The staff are very warm and caring, they were like family. The encouragement that the nursing staff and doctors gave me daily really carried me through. They made me feel like everything was going to be okay.

“I am particularly grateful to the donor and the brave family for the gift of life, which ensured that I was given this second chance,” said Mbatha.

She is also thankful that her husband, Sizwe, gave her so much moral support and encouragement.

“He was a constant source of inspiration throughout my recovery, and he kept telling me that I would walk out of the hospital. During the time that I have been in hospital, my mother had been looking after our baby,” she said.

The doctors admitted that they had no experience in transplantation with this virus and they are fairly sure that they are the first team in South Africa to do it, perhaps they are even the first team on the African continent.

Marc van Heerden, general manager of Netcare Milpark Hospital, is happy that the doctors were able to save a life.

“Mbatha’s discharge from Netcare Milpark Hospital is a proud moment for us. We are very grateful to the doctors, the nurses, the staff and the donor for giving this family a new chance at life.”