Staff who cared for Nina Kruger, from left Charne Cox, Simtholile Gumbi, Maud Makhubele and Princess Ntshobane, Nina, her mother Loretta, Dr Anri Carstens and family friend Mizaan. Pictures: Supplied
A young girl who fought for her life in intensive care after a tragic road accident is defying expectations in her recovery.
Not only is she walking unaided, but Nina Kruger is also pursuing her passion for fishing and making the most of life after a head injury.
Nina was just 10 at the time of the accident that also claimed the life of her beloved father, Frans Kruger, in March 2023.
Her injuries were life-threatening and she was airlifted by Netcare 911’s helicopter emergency medical service to the level 1 trauma centre at Netcare Alberton Hospital, where she was first attended to by renowned surgeon and trauma director Prof Frank Plani and Dr Katheryn Monteith.
Nina remained in the paediatric intensive care for over two months with a multidisciplinary team and required extensive surgeries painstakingly carried out by an army of specialists.
“We did not know from one hour to the next whether she would make it,” recalls her mother, Loretta Kruger.
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Nina sustained significant brain injury and facial fractures, and both her wrists were broken.
She also had a fractured femur that protruded from her leg and her pelvis was cracked.
Loretta and Nina’s best friend Mizaan spent many anxious weeks at Nina’s bedside as she fought for her life on a ventilator.
“We were told to prepare for the worst, but Nina’s feisty spirit wouldn’t give up,” Loretta says.
Nina was able to breathe on her own and when she was ready to move from the paediatric ICU, arrangements were made to transfer her from Netcare Alberton Hospital to Netcare Rehabilitation Hospital for intensive, multidisciplinary therapy.
Dr Anrie Carstens, a general practitioner with a special interest in physical and rehabilitation medicine practising at Netcare Rehabilitation Hospital, recalls that when Nina arrived in May, she was awake and smiling and although she had regained her speech, she was not interacting much.
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“At first, Nina was a little shy and could not walk as her fractured leg was still healing, and her body had global weakness after the protracted time she spent in the ICU, where she could barely move.
“Our initial assessment also identified that she had regressed and needed to relearn certain basic tasks,” she said.
Nina’s occupational therapy included an assessment of the vision aspects of her injury, leading to a referral to a neuro optometrist for further specialised care.
Loretta added: “When Nina first arrived at Netcare Rehabilitation Hospital, she couldn’t do anything for herself and my nerves were finished at that point. I was very worried about how Nina would react to moving to a different facility.
“Our hearts were quickly set at ease. Nina made good friends with the nurses, in particular paediatric nurse Namile Ndlhangamandla and other children. They made it a warm, safe family environment where children can thrive. We could see the difference the rehab therapies were making to Nina’s functioning each day, and I don’t know how many times she wouldn’t let me go until Namile arrived,” her mother says.
Charne Cox, a physiotherapist at Rita Henn and Partners, said Loretta, Mizaan and Nina’s family and friends – including the Crusaders Motorcycle Club (MC) – were incredibly supportive throughout.
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“Nina’s mom’s goal was just for her child to have the best time possible while she was with us at Netcare Rehabilitation Hospital. The family becomes part of the multidisciplinary team and we become almost like an extended family focussed on supporting the child holistically,” Cox said.
“When she first came to Netcare Rehabilitation Hospital, her functional independence measure score was just 27, but by the time she left us, she had drastically improved to a score of 89 and was ready for outpatient therapy.
“She really started to thrive when we incorporated activities she enjoyed before her accident. She loves fishing and so we started getting her to fish with a magnet for laminated cut-out pictures of fishes to help develop hand-eye coordination.”
Aquatherapy, gym and play therapy proved to be favourites with Nina, who also progressed beautifully with a speech therapist, as voicing and eating are both cognitive functions that were affected by Nina’s brain injury.
The multidisciplinary team also included support from a psychologist and dietician.
“Rehab for children requires us to get creative and make the therapies fun for them. It is so rewarding working with children because they have so much neuroplasticity that they progress beautifully and Nina has really exceeded our expectations,” Cox says.
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