Limpopo mother loses hope after operation to remove broken needles from her hand is postponed for the 5th time
Mabula Maboyi (35) has been living with a needle in her hand for more than two months
LIMPOPO – Mabula Maboyi (35) has lost hope that a broken needle inside her right hand would be removed, after her scheduled operation was last Thursday postponed for the fifth time at Tshilidzini Hospital.
Maboyi from Kutama-Tshikwarani, was injured while washing clothes in February, leaving a broken needle in her right hand. She has since been told that she will not be operated on immediately due to the high number of patients who are also booked for operations.
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“I have been living with a needle in my hand for more than two months now hoping that it will be removed, but all they do is to postpone the operation every time I come here. I did not choose to have this needle in my hand but they must help me because my life is in danger”, said Maboyi. She said that over the past weeks she has lost a lot of weight as she stopped eating at the thought that she might die every time the needle moves.
“I am afraid that if this needle is not removed I might die soon and leave my children to suffer. I cannot even eat because all I do is worry”, she said.
Maboyi was told that her operation had been postponed to 25 May due to the huge backlog of patients waiting for operations. Health Spokesman, Neil Shikwambana, who previously promised to contact the hospital regarding the Maboyi case, told CV that a backlog of orthopaedic patients awaiting surgery is often caused by a shortage of orthopaedic surgeons in the province.
