‘That one jab save my life!’
Tracy’s case has taught us all to get vaccinated. Without that jab, her treatment could certainly have been way more difficult.”
MBOMBELA – “Tracy’s case has taught us all to get vaccinated. Without that jab, her treatment could certainly have been way more difficult.”
This is according to Dr Attie van Wyk, one of Tracy Todd-Heine’s doctors in her recent fight against Covid-19.“That one jab saved my live! And so it can save yours as well. You owe it to yourself and your loved ones,” she said.
This follows after Tracy, a Lowveld icon better known as the Brave Lotus Flower, had to fight for her life.
Known as the stubborn human she is, she refused to be admitted to hospital for treatment.
With the help of her doctors, Johan Wolfaard and Van Wyk, her room at home was fitted with every piece of equipment to treat her. According to Van Wyk, her condition had later deteriorated to such an extent that oxygen had to be administered.
With a whole support team looking after her and pulling many strings behind the scenes, they managed the near impossible when they twice managed to arrange oxygen machines for her.
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Despite her condition still deteriorating, Tracy still refused to be admitted to hospital.
“I received a call from one of her therapists saying Tracy’s condition has now reached the stage where medical decisions had to be taken out of the hands of the family, and that urgent doctor’s intervention was the only option to save her life,” said Van Wyk.
She was in desperate need of an intervene protein supplement which could only be administered by specialists in a hospital.
Despite this, Tracy and her family were still uncertain about her being admitted to hospital. Van Wyk convinced her husband, Roy, that hospitalisation was the best option and only hope for her to get the correct treatment.
One of Tracy’s biggest concerns about being admitted was that she would be without her caregivers to look after her 24 hours a day due to the strict Covid protocols.
Mediclinic Nelspruit made a secluded private room available for her, where she could stay with her team.
“The intravenous protein is a very specialised mixture of medication, and it is then administered via a drip. After the first day of treatment, doctors could already see an improvement in her condition. Within three days she recovered to such an extent that she was discharged.”
The lotus has a unique daily life cycle of life, death and rebirth. This has led to the phrase “lotus flower of life”. That is why its meaning is often “rebirth”, and why the flower is frequently tied to spirituality.
Lotus flowers are also known to be resistant to pollution, and can even purify the water they grow in. In other words, they do not mind an acidic or dirty environment.
This is how botanist worldwide describe the beautiful flower with is unique sense to survive. And a more fitting description of Tracy Todd-Heine cannot be made.
Tracy’s amazing transformation as a quadriplegic started in April 1998 when, at the age of 28, she was involved in a serious car accident and was paralysed from the neck down.
She had faced numerous challenges over the years to adopt and adapt to her new way of live. All of these she passed with flying colours. From raising her son Chad to writing her memoirs, to eating supper in a tree house… if Tracy wants, Tracy gets!
