Martha Marais opens up about ‘hell’ in Mamelodi Hospital
A traumatised Marais says she is still scared that the four staff members, who have since been suspended, will come to her house and hurt her again.
Martha Marais while she was recovering from her ordeal at the Mamalodi Hospital last year. Photo: Ron Sibiya
The elderly woman found tied up at the Mamelodi regional hospital last week is recuperating well at her Eersterust home.
“I am all right,” 76-year-old Martha Marais said when Pretoria Moot Rekord visited her at home on Tuesday.
She was admitted to the hospital for vomiting and was discharged on Saturday.
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“I was just glad to get away from there. When I got home I wasn’t in the mood for anything, I just wanted to sleep in my own bed.”
Less than 24 hours into her hospital stay, her family discovered her on the floor tied up to a steel bench.
“I prayed for my life, I thought I was going to die,” Marais recalls as she bursts into tears.
Family representative Virginia Keppler told Pretoria Moot Rekord this was the first time Marais has cried since the incident.
“It was so cold on the floor,” Marais explained.
“I am scared. Scared of that steel bench, scared of those people who were suspended, I am scared they will come to my house and hurt me.”
A total of four Mamelodi hospital staff members and a security guard were placed on “special leave” at the weekend.
Lesemang Matuka, director of communication at the Gauteng department of health told Pretoria Moot Rekord: “A preliminary investigation [has] identified three doctors, one nurse and an external security guard involved in the case of the elderly woman.”
The family has since opened a case of assault at the Mamelodi east police station.
Yesterday, a doctor, nurse and psychologist brought Martha a brand new pair of crutches after hers disappeared at the hospital.
Keppler and Marais have made a special video to thank the community for its support during her ordeal.
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