Combined efforts save Roodepoort baby’s life

Humanitarians of all kinds band together with the purpose of giving life a chance.

Referred to by the St Laurence’s family as Baby Cyril, Tilly and Richard Malan first laid eyes on the malnourished infant in October 2021. Given the nickname due to his resemblance to the nation’s President, the eight-month-old whose real name is to be kept private, initially bounced between the Discovery-based haven and the home of his parents until it was established that they would not be in a position to safely care for him on a long-term basis.

Baby Cyril was in his teething phase when in early April, he began to develop a fever. While being tended to by a friend of the haven, they began to notice Baby Cyril stiffening, with his eyes rolling alarmingly toward the back of his head. He was rushed to Medicross Roodepoort where the combined efforts of two doctors, three nurses and the ambulance crew fought to save his life.

After a two and a half hour struggle to stabilise the infant, he was finally resuscitated and transferred to Netcare Krugersdorp Hospital. Upon arriving at Netcare Krugersdorp they treated him in the emergency room for an additional four hours, after which he was moved to the children’s ward. The following day Baby Cyril’s seizures became worse and he was quickly transferred back to the emergency ward.

There he was placed in an induced coma and connected to a ventilator for two further days before the medication brought his seizures under control. Now at the beginning of his recovery in the general ward, Baby Cyril was diagnosed with encephalitis and septicaemia. Tilly stayed with the infant throughout his ordeal, while taking occasional solace in his expressive eyes.

“He was lying on her chest and it felt to her like he said ‘Don’t worry, everything will be okay’,” said Richard.

The cost of medical care is one of the greatest financial struggles for St Laurence’s Children’s Haven and Richard believes the interventions and decisions made by the Medicross and Netcare staff saved Baby Cyril’s life.

“We want to say a special thank you to Dr Britz at Medicross Roodepoort and Dr Koekemoer at Netcare Krugersdorp. The patience, care and understanding they showed were amazing,” he said.

While still showing signs of gradual improvement, the infant has lost most of his strength and needs to get his motor skills back. Now recovering under the 24-hour watch of Tilly, Richard admits there is a long way to go before the eight-month-old is back to his usual self. Baby Cyril does, however, have a new moniker as he is now known to the St Laurence’s faithful as ‘Baby Miracle’.