The Sunday News
Tinomuda Chakanyuka Sunday News Reporter
WHAT started off as a normal sunny August 2010 afternoon for Mr Benson Hove at his rural home in Mberengwa under Chief Mataruse’s area, turned out to be a forgettable day, one he wishes could be erased from his life, or at least from his memories.Unfortunately the events of the day left indelible marks on him, ones which will forever remind him of the life changing horror he encountered about five years ago.
If Mr Hove (35) had a chance to rewrite his positive past, certainly this is one chapter he would omit, without thinking twice.
The unfortunate fate that befell Mr Hove condemned him to almost five years, and counting, in hospital. After the accident his fiancée deserted him and even his own kith and kin abandoned him to the mercy of the injuries he sustained.
Everyday he wishes for better, but better does not seem nigh enough, and only hope keeps him going. As they say hope is vital.
August 29, 2010, was the day when Mr Hove’s life took an acute turn into Horror Street, after suffering epileptic seizures.
Mr Hove, who at the time of the accident was 31 years old, was born with epilepsy, a neurological disorder marked by sudden recurrent episodes of sensory disturbance, loss of consciousness, or convulsions, associated with abnormal electrical activity in the brain.
On the fateful day, while he was preparing a meal, one he never got to enjoy, Mr Hove suffered an epileptic seizure (colloquially known as fits), an occurrence that he had become accustomed to for most of his life. But what was to be unusual about this particular seizure was that it changed his life after he fell into a fire, the one he was using to cook his meal, and he sustained serious burns all over his body.
Mr Hove, who was alone at home at the time of the incident was only helped out of the fire moments later by a neighbour who was passing by, but enough damage had already been done to alter the course of his life.
He, however, thanks God that he still has a life to talk about.
After the accident Mr Hove was rushed to Mnene Hospital in Mberengwa where he was immediately transferred to United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) for treatment as his condition was critical and needed specialised and urgent attention.
“The doctors said both my arms were serious and they had to amputate them. Both my legs were left paralysed. After being amputated I stayed at UBH where they were helping me with physiotherapy from August 2010 until March 2013 before I was transferred to Zvishavane District Hospital to continue with my rehabilitation and physiotherapy,” Mr Hove told Sunday News.
After being transferred to Zvishavane District Hospital, he was supposed to stay at the health facility, commonly known as White in the mining town, for a few weeks before being discharged to continue with physiotherapy from home.
But with both his parents late, his siblings scattered all over the country and abandoning him and their family home in Mataruse slowly turning into ruins, for Mr Hove, now wheelchair bound, going back home was not an option. Not many options were available for a man whose own family had abandoned him.
If Mr Hove was to brave it and go back to his rural home, there would be no one, save for his 90-year-old grandmother who equally needs aid, to take care of him with his new condition and assist him to regularly visit the hospital for physiotherapy sessions.
Prior to the accident Mr Hove was planning to marry his longtime girlfriend and he was just four months away from being with a soul mate and life partner, but the sudden twist in his fortunes owing to the accident changed the entire script, as his fiancée was to leave him. She is now married to another man after failing to accept her lover’s new found circumstances.
Zvishavane District Hospital turned out to be his refuge and has been his home since 17 March 2013 to this day.
“I had to negotiate with the hospital officials here who have accommodated me. I have been staying here and undergoing my physiotherapy. I’m grateful to nurses and all the other hospital staff here who have been giving me help ever since I came here from Bulawayo.
“I was supposed to have been discharged long back but because there is no one to take care of me at home or anywhere. My relatives have disowned me, my brothers and sisters are all over the country, some are in South Africa. None of them has shown interest in helping my situation.
“All this time I have been surviving on handouts. Hospital staff and well-wishers have been regularly helping me with food and other needs,” he said.
Mr Hove’s accommodation at the hospital is the general male ward which he of course shares with other patients, some who may be seriously ill, suffering from contagious diseases. He remains exposed to contracting diseases, a risk he is quite aware of and expressed fear of.
The soft spoken Mr Hove said his prayer was to find specialised accommodation for people living with disabilities where he can be properly taken care of while he undergoes rehabilitation.
“I have nowhere else to go, this is the only option I have and like I said I owe it to the kind hearts of hospital officials who allowed me to stay here. My wish is to find a home for people like me where I can be taken care of. Right now I’m staying here because there is nowhere else to go. There is a risk that I might contract diseases because I am sharing accommodation with people with different conditions,” he said.
It all looks gloomy and bleak for Mr Hove, but the man from Mberengwa perhaps has the Biblical faith of a mustard seed and remains hopeful that his situation will be better.
Hope has been the one thing that has kept his spirit alive and has motivated him to look ahead for brighter prospects.
“The doctors have told me that with more physiotherapy there were huge chances that I could walk again. They said the fact that I don’t have arms is what was delaying my full rehabilitation as my legs were lacking enough strength. So if I could find those artificial arms, like the doctors advised, I may be able to walk again.
“I was someone who was able to do his own work and earn my own money and I feel if I’m able to walk again I can work for myself. I don’t want to continue being a burden to other people,” he said.
Zvishavane District Medical Officer, Dr Timothy Muvurayi could not comment on the matter saying he first needed to get clearance from the Midlands Provincial Medical Director Dr Milton Chemhuru.
He had not obtained the clearance at the time of going to Press.
Senator representing people living with disabilities, Ms Annah Shiri said Mr Hove’s situation was a painful one and she was trying everything in her power to see to it that he gets the assistance he needed.
She said previous efforts to contact Mr Hove’s sisters did not yield anything as they kept making promises which they have not fulfilled.
“I visited him (Mr Hove) at Zvishavane District Hospital and managed to interview and counsel him. His situation needs urgent attention and we are doing everything in our power to make sure that he gets all the help that he needs.
“I tried to track his relatives and managed to get hold of one of his sisters who is now in South Africa. I explained to her the need for Benson (Hove) to be taken care of by his relatives and she promised to come back to me with a way forward after discussing the matter with other family members. She sounded concerned but I’m surprised up to now she hasn’t come back to me.
“Like I said Benson (Hove) needs attention and we will try our best to make sure he gets it,” she said.
Mr Hove’s case shows the extent to which epileptic people need company each time as their condition can lead to nasty or even fatal accidents.
Now Mr Hove’s tale is that of a wheelchair bound limbless epileptic, who has spent the past four or so years in hospital but nevertheless sees brighter prospects ahead of him.
