Sundra boy (2) in need of eye surgery.
Accident leaves little boy in need of multiple eye surgeries.
A family who live in Sundra experienced a life-changing event on July 30 at 2.10pm.
They have two sons, Deacon (5) and Gerhard Botes (2) and on this fateful day, Deacon asked to play with his Daisy gun which his parents keep secure on top of his father, Jason Botes’s cupboard.
When his parents, Charlet-May Greyling and Jason, told him he could not play with the gun, the child took matters into his own hands and, using a chair, climbed up to reach the Daisy.
The boys then went outside and a few minutes later there was a scream.
Charlet-May and Jason ran outside to see what had happened and found Gerhard crying and noticed his eye was bleeding.
They then rushed the boy to Netcare N17 and were refered to Lakeview Hospital in Benoni.
Here he was stabilised, given pain medication and sent for a CT scan to locate the bullet.
Charlet-May says: “We don’t have medical aid but did not want to go to a government hospital as we wanted to try to save his eye and knew we had a better chance at a private hospital.
“This is when our guardian angels in our small community of Sundra came to our rescue.
“Derrick Bester, the chairman of the Bulldogs (the neighbourhood watch), and the ‘Angel of Sundra’ took it upon himself to start raising funds in the community.
“Chris Joubert, who lives just a few houses down from us, called us and told us not to worry as they had started a collection to help with the medical expenses.”
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The community raised enough money for Gerhard’s first operation and he was admitted to the Ekurhuleni Surgiklin Day Hospital on August 1.
During this operation the doctor closed the bullet hole at the front of the eyeball and inserted a silicon-like gel into the back of the eye to keep it round.
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However, Charlet-May says this was the first of many necessary surgeries.
She adds Gerhard will go for surgery every two weeks and that the bullet hasn’t been removed from his eye yet but the doctor is monitoring it closely.
The second operation will take place on August 30.
“We have no words but so much gratitude because if it was not for the Bulldogs and the support of a loving community my son would not have gotten the help he needed at that moment.”
She commends the medical staff who have helped Gerhard saying “the staff at all three hospitals have been angels to us and so caring to our baby boy.”
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