‘She can go to any health facility’ – but bedridden Limpopo woman has no way to get there

Health-e News ‘She can go to any health facility’ – but bedridden Limpopo woman has no way to get there Tshegofatso Molamo has spent more than a decade trying to understand why she lost her ability to walk after medical complications during childbirth in May 2012.

She says doctors at two hospitals in the province have been unable to provide her with an explanation about what went wrong during labour.

But her mother, Anna says getting her daughter the healthcare she needs now is the family’s biggest concern.

The family says home-based healthcare visits stopped without explanation in December last year.

Tshegofatso, who cannot sit or walk and who survives on social grants, says she is unable to travel to a health facility without assistance.

“Ever since I’ve been bedridden, and unable to sit or walk, my life has been miserable.“ The Limpopo Health Department has meanwhile acknowledged that Tshegofatso’s medical records cannot be found, and they are unable to follow-up on the issue of home-based care until her file can be located.

The provincial department also told Health-e News that they are unable to assist Tshegofatso with transport.

Her mother, Anna says the family has been struggling to provide the care at home that Tshegofatso needs.

“Tshegofatso’s life has been painful for her and the rest of the family,” says Anna.

“I had to quit my job after she was discharged from Mankweng so that I can take care of her on a fulltime basis.

As a family that survives on her R2 338 disability grant and child support grant for her daughter, we’re unable to take her to a specialist.” Tshegofatso says her condition has also left her dependent on her family for her daily care.

“I’m having to rely on my mother to change my diapers.” Years without answers Tshegofatso says she lost her mobility during childbirth in 2012 but doctors never explained to her why.

According to Tshegofatso, she was unconscious at her home on 30 May 2012 when neighbours called for an ambulance to be dispatched to her home at Mogaung village in the Sekhukhune district of Limpopo.

She was rushed to Philadelphia Hospital more than 60 kilometres away where her baby was delivered through caesarean section.