Travels Abroad
The one’s a red cross… Summertime in Swish It’s been almost nine years since I last traveled abroad. That July 2015 trip with Belinda took in Kent, England, and stays in Quebec, Canada, Bean Town, New England and the Big
All Own Research & Writing, and Externally Sourced Information About Cardiac Disease and Heart Transplant Treatment
Transplant Recipients, Uncertainty & Vaccination in a time of Covid-19
RAY HARTLE The majority of people across the world have faced fear and uncertainty since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Uncertainty among ill people – described as “the inability to determine the meaning of illness-related events”[1] has become hugely
Differences over vaccine treatment for transplant recipients
RAY HARTLE There is no agreement among South Africa’s heart transplant programmes that Covid-19 vaccination will be recommended for donor heart recipients. While a vaccine is keenly anticipated as the best means for immunosuppressed transplant recipients to counter Covid-19, not
SA’s heart transplant numbers drop due to Covid-19
South Africa’s four heart transplant programmes face challenging times, after a year in which transplant numbers slumped dramatically due to the Covid-19 pandemic. And the second wave of the virus has put paid to transplantations in most programmes in the
Random Hearts
WELCOME NEW USERS
Since the Covid-19 pandemic arrived and especially during the national lockdown in South Africa, I have seen an increase in interest in this site. That is great to have but it also means more management of the site from my
TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS SHOULD STAY HOME TILL VACCINE ARRIVES
I have been trying to figure out what my medium to long-term lifestyle may be once the enforced Covid-19 lockdown in South Africa is lifted. Logically, it seems that fellow organ donor recipients in South Africa and I must prepare
SA has delayed the viral onslaught, but we cannot avoid it – Karim
The chair of the technical advisory group to government on Covid-19, Prof Salim Abdool Karim, says the interventions introduced by the SA government have slowed the viral spread and the country has gained some time. But that is all. The
Covid-19 – a new kairos moment for the church
Most people, those who acknowledge some or other religious faith as well as those of no faith at all, allow humour to meld with their understandings of life crises. The Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant national lockdown have not changed
“WHY ME, LORD?”
Why me, Lord? Some Social Factors Associated with the Receipt of a Donor Heart In South Africa A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts of Rhodes University by
Can we talk about life after death?
This post is a re-run of previous discussions about life and death and was also carried by the Daily Dispatch just before Easter 2019. Since it’s Good Friday – can we have a conversation about life after death? This is
Remembering the Elderly
You regard yourself as intelligent, alert, able to access information using all the modern era’s channels, and so aware of what’s going on in the world, You’re reasonably healthy, you have resources to ensure your cupboards are stocked,
LOVE, LIFE & EVERYTHING ELSE IN THE TIME OF COVID-19
Life is changing radically for many people around the world. Like most people, I’m worried about contracting Covid-19, the latest or “novel” iteration of the regular coronavirus to be unleashed on the world. The stress is most evident in
Sloppy Doctors’ Writing
I really didn’t know it was a thing – and an established thing at that: People die by the hand of their doctor. Or, more correctly, they die by the poor, sloppy handwriting of their doctor. It turns out
Of hearts and loved ones, suns and songs, long roads and many words, and kitties…
It’s three years today since I was reborn. This third year has been hectically busy. I’m writing fulltime. And studying again. Spending too much time on long roads. Although the brilliant skies are always an incentive to stick with
Heart Kids Die in a Faltering Paediatric Transplantation Programme
At least 32 young children have died since 2000 after failing to receive a heart transplant – a sign of South Africa’s faltering organ donation and transplantation programmes. In one hospital in a five-year period from 2010 to 2014, two
Koen: ‘Heart transplantation no longer the gold standard for management of heart failure – assist devices must be part of treatment’
For over 50 years, heart transplantation has been regarded as the “gold standard” in treatment of cardiomyopathy and end-stage heart failure. But Cape Town-based cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Willie Koen told the congress of the South African Transplant Society in
National Roadmap Proposed to Increase Organ Donation and Transplantation in SA
What might South Africa’s organ and tissue transplant programme look like in future? This was the question examined during a two-day workshop to develop a national roadmap to increase deceased organ and tissue donor referrals and donor family consents for
No Green Book: Travels in Apartheid South Africa
The film Green Book, which won this year’s Oscar for best film, explores road travel through racist America by African-Americans in the segregation era. It is based on The Negro Motorist Green Book, a compendium volume published for 30
Family Geometry
Twice in one year our family geometry has changed quite radically – in the nicest of ways. A year ago, Heath & Kelly tied the knot, and last weekend, Becca & Marco exchanged vows to each other. We came together
That Window – On the World, Into the Soul
“Minutes later, after Koen and Modler leave and in the few moments of quiet – before the start of detailed preparations for the early morning surgery – I stand at the window of the 10th floor of my ward,
Time to Stop Our Abuse by the Privileged
I’ve been thinking this week of the chutzpah of very wealthy alleged crooks and the advantages they either inherently have or which they claim, by virtue of their enormous affluence. This is not a new thought at all. But
Not-Quite-A-Friday-Reflection
I was impressed with this driver’s courage as we passed him and his bed on the road from Grahamstown to East London. The load on the roof of his car was rather flimsily tied, he was going at speed and
Friday Reflection: Seizing the City
FRIDAY REFLECTION It’s become my favourite thing to do on a Friday afternoon – walk the streets of the city where I was Re-born. You get an amazing perspective on this physical place, of the elements that came and continue
A Whole New World of Sports
I was mostly quite useless at the competitive sports I played growing up. But what I lacked in the talent stakes compared to Julian, Anton, Auburn, Lawrence and other members of the motley crew I hung with, I more than
Transplant Games Send a Huge Message: Transplantees are More Than Alright
American golfer Eric Compton ended in second place in the 2014 US Open tournament at Pinehurst in North Carolina. His achievement is a testimony to the tenacity of organ donor recipients. Compton, 38, has had two heart transplants in his
3 CONFIRMED CHILD DEATHS IN AMBULANCE DRIVERS’ STRIKE
Finally – finally some acknowledgment in the Daily Dispatch that the ambulance drivers’ strike in the Eastern Cape has unnecessarily been responsible for the deaths of 6 people, including 3 young children. The figure includes at least one child due to travel
The Very Public Doctor’s Waiting Room
‘When was the last time you peed, Mr Hartle?’ The question nearly hits me for six. I shake my head and gingerly reach over the counter for the little plastic cup proffered by the nurse and follow her directions into
Friday Restoration: Broken Little Hearts
FRIDAY RESTORATION: LITTLE BROKEN HEARTS I spent two days this week following the work of paediatricians Maurice Levy from Frere (East London) and Felicity Goosen from Cecilia Makiwane (Mdantsane) Hospitals. They were hosting again the team of paediatric cardiologists from
About Doctors who are Gods
If we’re generally bad at holding service providers accountable for good service, we’re totally useless when it comes to dealing with providers in the healthcare sector. We’ve no one to blame but ourselves when we end up in abusive
How Poverty Causes Heart Disease
Despite being one of the most unequal societies on the planet, South Africa should not have to struggle to address diseases that are a direct result of poverty. One of these diseases is rheumatic heart disease. Globally, more than 300 000
To Recap: SuperSport Continues to Get it Wrong
To Recap, reading statements, news reports and between-the-lines: SuperSport had no crisis communications plan in place when the Ashwin Willemse moment exploded on national television last Saturday night. SuperSport realized today, after 6 days of indecision, that it actually
Reveille for a New Approach to Death and Living
I wrote recently that we need to acknowledge each other’s humanity so that we realise that any – and all – deaths affect us, especially violent ones that come about through the murderous acts of another. Last week I went
Medical Aids – Love Them Or Hate Them
I am not easily enamoured with medical aid schemes. Sadly, South Africa’s public healthcare system has failed all of us. The majority of South Africans can never afford the enormous subscriptions for private medical aid which, along with the co-payments
‘If Your Heart Causes You To Stumble’
None of us can predict with any degree of certainty how our lives might turn out from one moment to another, whether by conscious election or serendipity. We choose actions every minute that might have immediate, long-term implications, while sinking
Sacrificing Everything That Another Might Live
The identity of the donor of my second heart (and his or her family) remains anonymous in terms of South African heart transplant protocols. The donor family, also, knows little – if anything at all – of my identity. As
Friday Restoration: Resonaxis
Part of my journey this Lent has been exploring olde-new music. I’ve especially been enjoying music from the Renaissance & modern, very modern iterations of that. Australian rock group Resonaxix, centred on composer-singer Brooke Shelley, who has been associated with
Friday Restoration: SA Rebooted Requires Mercy
“South Africa rebooted” as an idea is a seductive one. We have lived through a serious nightmare under Jacob Zuma. And Cyril Ramaphosa has already shown us in small ways that his ethic is different to JZ. But it remains
Friday Restoration: Lent
The cakes and pastries, especially, have been talking to me. I see and smell their invitations – I’m sure I even hear them as I throw a wide berth around the fresh bakes corner of the local supermarket. The philosophical
SARS: Dealing with a Corporate Bully
How do YOU deal with a bully? A corporate one? With a new (old) Minister of Finance in place and talk of a new chief taxman to head the SA Revenue Services (SARS), it’s worth revisiting some problems that beset law-abiding
Gallery: How 2017 Looked in Part
Oh Night Divine – Christmas 2017
Everybody knows I’m a sentimentalist. Last Christmas, I was making my way, firmly, back into the big wide world with a donor heart, H2. Even though the previous two months had been miraculous enough, I could not have imagined
Looking Forward to Getting Better
Tshefu Pefumlela is 21 months old and was one of the new patients seen at the paediatric cardiology clinic at Cecilia Makiwane Hospital this month. He has a large hole in his heart and will be admitted to Red Cross
Knowledge Overcomes Fear for All
The biggest challenge that parents of children with congenital heart conditions report is “the fear of not knowing”. Once they are in the system and doctors have taken time to counsel them on their child’s condition and what the available
Three for Eight is not a Handicap
Akhanani Magengeli is only eight but has already had three operations to correct congenital heart disease. And he will need to have at least one more in the future. His mother, Polisa, said doctors were concerned when they saw a
Tragedy Spurs Her Service to Young Patients
I’m sure it’s true of many of the most passionate health carers – that they were pushed deeper into serving others as a result of their personal experience with a loved one who was seriously ill. Mrs Zandile Ntisana, 50,
A Sore Throat led to a Damaged Heart
In 2014, Kamva Nosifundo’s parents started noticing that she was often tired and complained of pain in her joints. Her parents, Litha and Mgweba, from Mdantsane, brought her to Frere Hospital where Dr Maurice Levy confirmed that rheumatic fever had
State Hospitals Can Have the Edge
It’s fair to say that, given the option or having the resources to check themselves in, most South Africans may prefer being admitted for treatment in a private hospital rather than a State facility. In the 50th anniversary of South
Under-reporting of Heart Disease in SA’s Children
“One-in-a-hundred children in the Eastern Cape are born with heart disease like everywhere else and they need a cardiology service in the province,” says Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital paediatric cardiologist Rik de Decker, whose team treats young children
A Hole in a Heart in a Belly
Thabiso Mabusela was seven months’ pregnant when her doctor spotted a hole in the heart of her unborn baby on a scan. “I was very worried at the time. I was told my baby could be disabled but the doctors
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