Father of the year
SANDTON – A seemingly ordinary security guard is actually an extraordinary, selfless man.
As the little ones of Parkmore Nursery School enjoy their day and complete their educational activities, the nursery school’s security guard is there to watch over them, and this security guard is no ordinary man.
As a single father who has endured unimaginable heartbreak over the past few years, Freddy Ndaba’s trying journey began in 2013 when he took his child, Bradley, to hospital.
“My son was vomiting and he didn’t look well. We admitted him into hospital and he had to stay there for three months. He later developed a lump in his buttocks and the doctors had to perform surgery. Unfortunately, he got septicemia,” said Ndaba.
It was during this period that a healthy, happy child transformed into a sickly, helpless little human who could no longer walk or talk. According to Ndaba, this drastic change in his child’s behaviour was as a result of epilepsy.
“[The doctors] said that Bradley’s brain had shrunk.”
Needless to say, this heartbreak greatly impacted his wife, Precious.
“My wife suffered from depression because of this. The doctors say that she had cervical cancer, but I don’t think she did because she seemed physically healthy. When she died on 28 November 2013, I think she died of a broken heart.”
Ndaba added that after consulting with therapists, he was able to better understand why his wife reacted the way she did to her son’s dwindling health.
“The therapists explained how hard it must have been for her to bring a healthy child to the hospital and then leave with a child who could not walk or talk.
“She should have gone out for fresh air, but instead stayed with him inside that hospital all day and watched him have about three fits a day.”
Today, this selfless single father carries his disabled son up and down six flights of stairs in their block of flats in Berea, Hillbrow. He has had to arrange special transport for Bradley to and from school because his ‘buggie’, which is similar to a wheelchair, cannot fit into an ordinary taxi.
Ndaba also lovingly gives his son special care and has chosen to remain optimistic for the sake of his boys.
“He [Bradley] can now move his hand because I use massage oil to massage him and give him physical therapy. His 12-year-old brother Brandon is also now doing better after all the trauma with the help of counselling.”
As this year draws to a close, it is appropriate to honour residents such as Ndaba, who have put others before themselves.
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