Polokwane teacher recuperating well after internal bleeding struggle

POLOKWANE – For more than six weeks, teacher and netball coach Martin van der Westhuizen suffered from unexplainable internal bleeding.

This meant he had to miss his learners’ exams as he was in hospital.

After he was admitted to Mediclinic Kloof Hospital and several tests later, the doctors could not find the fault and suggested a Capsule Endoscopy procedure.

“I had to swallow a camera capsule that takes hundreds of photos while going through my digestive system. This is the only way that the specialists could see what is going on in my smaller intestine to try and pinpoint the source of the bleeding.”

This procedure took place on May 28 and Van der Westhuizen was told he had a Mallory-Weiss Tear.

“This means the inner lining of my oesophagus tears open and bleeds profusely. The tear is usually between 2 to 4cm. These tears occur at or near where your oesophagus meets your stomach.”

Van der Westhuizen explains Mallory Weiss tears are caused by increased pressure in the abdomen.

“Scientists think that the abdominal pressure forces the stomach’s contents into the oesophagus, which leads to the tears. So I understand, according to my doctor, that my hiatal hernia was the cause.”

The tears normally heal themselves within 72 hours. Still, due to the complexity of Van der Westhuizen’s hernia and the damage from the previous operations, his took longer to heal and also tore a second time, which caused bleeding.

“As I am on very good regulated PPI or anti-acid medication, it protects my oesophagus and prevents it from happening again so I do not have to undergo any other procedure or surgery. My iron levels and HB are picking up very nicely as my last HB was 11.8,” he told the Polokwane Review-Observer.

Van der Westhuizen started to feel ill during a relaxing afternoon braai on April 14.

He suddenly felt dizzy and nauseous and decided to lie down for a while. About an hour later he got up, but immediately passed out, hitting his head against the door.

Early the next morning, van der Westhuizen went to the doctor who treated him for an ulcer.

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Since he was still feeling ill on April 17, his haemoglobin (HB) blood count was tested, and it was 7,4. The normal count is between 13 and 18 and anything under 6,5 is seen as life-threatening.

He was admitted first to Mediclinic Limpopo where his HB drastically dropped down to below five due to internal bleeding and he started with blood transfusions.

A few days after his discharged he was again admitted to hospital, this time to Mediclinic Kloof.

His biggest challenge was a lot of dizziness and weakness due to the internal bleeding and he was bedridden most of the time.

“After 10 weeks, we can now close the book. Thank you once again to everyone for all the care, support and prayers during this time.”