Saggie’s memory lives on
No parent should have to bury their child and the pain of the death of your child is unlike anything anyone can explain. Alex Matlala can attest to this as he recently lost a child.
POLOKWANE – “Since I was 14 years old my grandparents always said no parent must ever bury their children but instead, the opposite must apply. Now, 34 years later, I had to bury my child. For many parents, the pain of losing their own children is unbearable and I am living proof to that.”
Alex Matlala’s son, Saggie (21) passed away on August 5 after a seven-month battle against skin cancer.
“Saggie’s cancer was the most traumatic thing my family had to be confronted with. He was the first in the family to be diagnosed. I remember him as an enthusiastic young boy, full of energy and very playful. He was a fashionista just like his father and very intelligent, he matriculated with two distinctions.”
Alex remembers the last time he saw Saggie in high spirits before he got sick was when he came back from Philadelphia High School in Pretoria to tell Alex how he aced his final Gr 12 examinations. When Saggie got sick Alex took him to a hospital where he was diagnosed with skin cancer.
“At first I thought my ears deceived me. I opted for a second opinion and took him to a doctor in Tzaneen, and the doctor gave us the same results. That was the beginning of many other consultations including the traditional route.”
Alex remembers how he emptied his purse, hopping from one traditional healer to the other in and far from the province, but Saggie’s health deteriorated. At times they would think he is out of the woods but the following day his situation would get worse.
“The last few days of his life was when doctors at the CN Phatudi In Tzaneen and Polokwane Provincial Hospitals advised us to have his legs amputated. I asked doctors to give us time to sleep on the matter, but his situation got worse and he died a few days after his admission at the CN Phatudi Hospital.”
Alex said he cried for days on end and when it finally sunk in Alex realised that Saggie is truly gone, resting with God.
“That made me remember his favourite words: ‘We can never change where we come from, but we can choose where we are going’. A lesson that I have learnt from this is that cancer kills, especially if not attended to at an early stage.”
