Wanga Khumeleni was two years old when her parents had her hearing tested because she wasn’t speaking much.
Her parents, Rendani Raligidima and Takalani Khumuleni, were stunned when they were told that she could only hear loud sounds, like an aeroplane taking off, because she’d been a healthy, bouncy baby and had shown no signs of illness up until then.
“The otolaryngologist [ear, nose and throat doctor] recommended a hearing aid, but when that didn’t improve her hearing, we opted for a cochlear implant,” Takalani tells YOU.
“We thought all would be well with our baby, but it was only the beginning.”
The family from Tshwane received another blow last year when doctors at Steve Biko Academic Hospital diagnosed Wanga with patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), an opening between two blood vessels leading from the heart.To save her life, Wanga needed surgery to correct the PDA and earlier this year, her parents got the news they’d been praying for.
“We received a call that there were associates that would like to fund her operation at Zuid-Afrikaans Hospital. We were so happy and grateful,” Takalani says.
However, the surgery was postponed when doctors discovered another defect in her heart. Wanga was diagnosed with coarctation of the aorta (COA), a narrowing of the aorta, which forces the heart to pump harder to move blood through the main blood vessel of the body.
“We were shocked and scared that our daughter had these health problems because prior to her being diagnosed, she hadn’t shown any signs of having any form of heart defect, she was active like any other five-year-old,” her father says.
With the help of paediatric cardiologist Professor Lindy Mitchell, who had been treating Wanga at Steve Biko, the family managed to fast track the waiting time for the little girl’s life-saving procedure.
“We work alongside the Maboneng Foundation at Netcare Sunninghill Hospital that raises funds to assist children with severe heart problems to undergo procedures quicker, rather than waiting months in the public sector,” Mitchell says.
On 12 April, two months before her birthday, Wanga had the operation to correct the PDA and aortic coarctation. She was discharged from hospital after a week and continues to go from strength to strength.
“Wanga is a tough little girl but without the surgery, over time her heart and lungs would slowly have gotten weaker, damaged and unrepairable,” Mitchell says.
Although her heart defects have been repaired, it caused Wanga to develop high blood pressure and she must take medication to lower it until her next check-up.
Wanga recently celebrated her sixth birthday with a special animal-themed party at her school and her dad says she’s well on her road to recovery.
“I’m happy about her growth after the surgery, she’s picked up some weight and grown taller, but I hope this is the last surgery ever.”
