Rape survivor, motivational speaker and writer Alison Botha. Picture: Gallo Images
Raped. Neck slashed 17 times. Stabbed in the stomach 37 times. Disemboweled. Dumped on the outskirts of a nature reserve, dead – or so they thought…
This is the intro to Alison Botha’s Facebook page. She went through this harrowing ordeal 30 years ago after two men raped and savagely mutilated her in December 1994 on the outskirts of Gqeberha (then Port Elizabeth).
After she suffered an aneurysm, she was rushed to a public hospital in George on 25 September – just days after her 57th birthday. Early in October, Botha had to undergo brain surgery to relieve fluid buildup. Again, this brave motivational speaker had to fight for her life.
On 25 October an official update on her Facebook page read: “As many of us have predicted and believed, Alison does not seem done with her miracles just yet. In the last few days, she has been communicating with vigour and lots of heart despite not being able to mobilise.”
On 29 October, she was able to update the public on her health herself: “It’s been a while. After a month, I am able to personally update you on my recovery this far.
“I am still in hospital and starting the long journey of rehabilitation. I have been assessed by the doctors and physio therapists. Soon, I can be transferred to a specialist rehabilitation centre, all because of the generosity of so many selfless people. Thank you.”
Botha does not have medical aid to pay for her treatment. She is therefore reliant on donations to pay her medical bills.
However, on Tuesday her lawyer Tania Koen said in an update that Botha made it to the step-down clinic two weeks ago. “The days are long, and the progress slow and taxing, but Alison is committed despite so many of the realities setting in and the fear of the unknown.”
She also shared the news that Botha has suffered an unexpected setback. She had to be transported by ambulance to a bigger, public hospital facility with the necessary equipment for the scans she needed. “We will keep you posted,” Koen concluded.
Tania Koen Attorneys
Nedbank Trust Account No 1302230492
International donations include SWIFT code NEDSZAJJ
Tania Koen: tkatt@mweb.co.za
NOW READ: Alison Botha: Rape survivor’s new fight after brain surgery
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