The Sunday News
Harare Bureau
MANQOBA Mabhena, daughter to Zimpapers employees Lawson Mabhena and Shamiso Yikoniko, defied all-odds to make a miraculous recovery after doctors had given her the faintest chance at survival during her treatment in India.
The one-year-old girl is now close to full recovery. She displayed amazing resiliance after undergoing a liver transplant as well as a plethora of complications. Manqoba travelled to India with her parents on 2 November after well-wishers donated US$43 000 to cater for air fares, visa fees and any eventualities during treatment of the deadly condition, biliary atresia.
The mother, who is still in India with Manqoba, last week said her daughter spent two weeks in the Intensive Care Unit before fighting off a series of ailments.
“For those two weeks I dreaded the visiting times because doctors kept on waving bad news cards to our faces — one after another. The most shattering was the intensivist saying to us, ‘To be honest with you, we are only able to save between 25 to 30 percent of people in your baby’s condition but we remain hopeful’.”
Yikoniko said her husband, Manqoba’s father — Mabhena — donated the liver that saved the little baby’s life. Before going ahead with the transplant, the doctor warned that the surgery was a possible life and death situation as Manqoba’s condition had deteriorated to levels that pointed to a loss of life after surgery.
Said Yikoniko: “To repeat his words, (Doctor Gupta said) ‘I’m willing to try and re-open the blocked blood vessels during the transplant since it’s a recent blockage but there’s a high possibility that we might lose her even after surgery. So what I need from you is consent’.
“Without even thinking twice, Lawson signed the consent forms. God was in control and we had nothing to fear. Manqoba continuously got sick but she refused to lose the fight. She got up, brushed herself and even now keeps going.”
Yikoniko praised Manqoba’s fighting spirit during the testing ordeal.
“I have never seen anyone as resilient as my little one-year-old girl. She could still smile through the worst pain.
Manqoba handled different kinds of surgeries and needles,” she said.
Yikoniko said the trip to India was expected to last one-and-a-half months with the trio returning home mid-December, but a series of complications as well as bureaucratic eventualities have seen the trip stretching longer, further increasing the bill.
Yikoniko revealed that an unnamed well-wisher had to chip in with an additional US$20 000 as the costs soared during the extended trip. Mabhena has since returned home.
