{"id":85365,"date":"2017-01-13T08:53:17","date_gmt":"2017-01-13T06:53:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/brave-amputee-boy-goes-home-for-festive-season-after-nine-months-in-hospital-tenacious-owethu-cant-be-kept-down\/"},"modified":"2017-01-13T08:53:17","modified_gmt":"2017-01-13T06:53:17","slug":"brave-amputee-boy-goes-home-for-festive-season-after-nine-months-in-hospital-tenacious-owethu-cant-be-kept-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/brave-amputee-boy-goes-home-for-festive-season-after-nine-months-in-hospital-tenacious-owethu-cant-be-kept-down\/","title":{"rendered":"Brave amputee boy goes home for festive season after nine months in hospital \u2013 Tenacious Owethu can\u2019t be kept down"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brave amputee boy goes home for festive season after nine months in hospital \u2013 Tenacious Owethu can\u2019t be kept down<\/a>: <\/p>\n

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Owethu Chibure learns to use prosthetic legs at Netcare Rehabilitation Hospital. He underwent nine months of extensive rehabilitation at the hospital following a bacterial infection that resulted in his limbs having to be amputated eOwethu Chibure shows a work of art he completed during play therapy at Netcare Rehabilitation Hospital.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Eight-year-old Owethu Chibure from Sasolburg was thrilled to at last be going home after having spent nine months of extensive rehabilitation at a Johannesburg hospital following a bacterial infection that resulted in his limbs having to be amputated early in 2016.<\/p>\n

Owethu suffered a life-threatening sepsis complication after contracting a meningococcus bacterial infection and had to have both of his legs amputated below the knees, as well as his left hand and all of the fingers on his right hand.<\/p>\n

Today, after receiving lifesaving treatment at the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at Netcare Garden City Hospital and many months of intensive therapy by a multi-disciplinary team at Netcare Rehabilitation Hospital, Owethu is fully mobile, using the prosthetic limbs that have been custom made for him. He is also having a \u2018bionic\u2019 myoelectric hand fitted, which will help him to perform such tasks as tying his shoelaces or typing on a computer.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you know that I can take care of myself and don\u2019t need the help of the nurses anymore? I can also put my legs on by myself,\u201d Owethu announced proudly with a smile before he gulped a glass of water, which he adeptly grasped firmly between the stump of his left hand and the five little stubs of his right hand, all that remain of his fingers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am tired; we went for a long walk this morning,\u201d Owethu continued, before getting up suddenly, jumping into his wheelchair and racing after Dr Virginia Wilson, the medical practitioner who was responsible for his overall care at Netcare Rehabilitation Hospital.<\/p>\n

\u201cOwethu is the longest staying paediatric patient we have ever cared for at the hospital,\u201d says Dr Wilson. \u201cHe is a truly remarkable boy; a real survivor who, thanks to his tenacity and bravery as well as committed support by his parents and appropriate medical care and rehabilitation, has succeeded in overcoming massive physical as well as emotional trauma.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing him today you would never believe that Owethu had undergone such a harrowing journey this past year. He has unbelievable vigour and spirit, and has been an inspiration to the doctors and staff at the hospital. We will all miss his wonderful energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cOwethu has shown such determination in his recovery that I would not be surprised if he went on to become one of South Africa\u2019s great paralympians in the future,\u201d notes Dr Wilson, who has 16 years experience in the field of paediatric rehabilitation.<\/p>\n

Dr Wilson explains that it has by no means been an easy journey for the young man who seems to light up the faces of all of those who meet him. The meningococcus infection he contracted at the beginning of 2016 caused blood clots to shoot into his smaller blood vessels, effectively causing his extremities to become necrotic or, in other words, to start dying.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a life-threatening situation and Owethu was admitted to Netcare Garden City Hospital, under the care of paediatric intensivist, Dr Myles Bartlett, who managed to stabilise him. Plastic surgeon, Dr Ridwan Mia, performed the amputations at the hospital as well as a number of procedures thereafter to facilitate healing and enable the fitting of prosthetic limbs.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the amputations, Owethu was understandably distraught and kept asking what had happened to his bandaged hands and legs. His wounds still required healing and considerable care when he was first admitted to Netcare Rehabilitation Hospital on 30 March this year,\u201d relates Dr Wilson.<\/p>\n

The therapy practice based at Netcare Rehabilitation Hospital, says that Owethu required the care of a full multi-disciplinary paediatric rehabilitation team, including occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech therapy, to assist him to recover and to become mobile once more.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe doctor and nursing staff cared for his wounds in the first weeks of his stay, and he had to have months of special intensive physical rehabilitation and be carefully fitted out for prosthetics. Owethu and his family were also provided with the necessary psychosocial support to assist in getting them through this difficult time. Using play therapy, the team also worked to equip him to deal with his reintegration into community life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heinrich Grimsehl, an orthotist prosthetist who practises at Netcare Rehabilitation Hospital says: \u201cOnce Owethu\u2019s wounds were healed sufficiently, his prosthetic legs could be fitted and he has been able to achieve excellent mobility using them. We made these adjustable so that he does not outgrow them too quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Grimsehl, Owethu\u2019s high-tech myoelectric hand uses sensors to detect electrical signals generated naturally by his own muscles that controlled his hand before amputation. The myoelectric hand is designed to mimic human anatomy and motion, and is covered by a natural looking glove.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe battery for the myoelectric hand only arrived recently and we will be working with Owethu to get him completely adept at using it early in the new year. He will then be able to use it in his daily activities. However, he has practised with the hand extensively using a computer and quickly became familiar with it,\u201d notes Grimsehl.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the new year we are going to donate a further body powered prosthetic arm with a cable operated hook to Owethu completely free of charge in his honour. This hook will be waterproof and more hardwearing than the myoelectric prosthesis, and he will be able to use it for his play and his sporting and water activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a long road to recovery for Owethu, but this interdisciplinary approach, combined with the young man\u2019s own positive outlook and determination, as well as the absolute devotion and love of his family, have assisted him in his most impressive progress. Owethu will be attending Hope School in Johannesburg in 2017 and we see a great future ahead for this remarkable young man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Owethu\u2019s father, Lazarus Chibure, said that his son\u2019s condition had been difficult for the family, particularly as his recovery had taken so long. They had to travel from Sasolburg to Johannesburg every time they wanted to visit Owethu. He said he was now \u201cgreatly looking forward\u201d to having his son at home for the holidays.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many people who were involved in Owethu\u2019s care at both Netcare Rehabilitation and Netcare Garden City hospitals whom I would like to thank,\u201d added Mr Chibure. \u201cHe received a great deal of loving care at both facilities and their teamwork is to a large extent responsible for getting Owethu home to us once more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would particularly like to express our thanks to Dr Wilson, Heinrich Grimsehl, Dr Bartlett, Dr Mia, Judi Wessels and all of the nursing and other staff involved in his care. I would also like to express my gratitude to SasolMed who funded his care, as well as to my wife Christinah Chibure for all of her support over this time. We as a family would also like to thank God for bringing our child back to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Renowned plastic surgeon, Dr Ridwan Mia, who practises at Netcare Garden City Hospital, says that Owethu\u2019s wounds had been extensive and had required skin grafts and a number of procedures. \u201cI am extremely gratified to know that Owethu, who is such a tenacious and bright young man, has recovered to the point where he can go home and attend school next year,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to spread awareness of meningococcus infection in South Africa, as it can be a most dangerous, even fatal, infection for our children in particular. It is a bacterium that can cause a variety of disease including meningitis or, as in Owethu\u2019s case, meningococcemia, which is a life-threatening sepsis. This is tragic, particularly as there is a vaccine available against the infection,\u201d concludes Dr Mia.<\/p>\n

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