SA Private Hospital Group’s Nexit from UK
Netcare Group, which is South Africa’s biggest private provider of hospital services, has decided to exit (as some wags have noted, Nexit) from Britain, where it has been invested since 2006 in 57 hospitals through General Healthcare Group. If nothing
Chris Barnard Revisited: My Place in His Legacy
On a Monday morning in August, 2016, South African Wayde van Niekerk became the fastest person on earth across 400 meters of an athletics track, raising whoops of unbridled joy and admiration. I was left considering my own slow,
Gallery: Current and Future Frontiers in Heart Disease and Treatment
University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Tim Pennel joined East London cardiologist Dave Kettles in a discussion on the challenges in diagnosing and treating heart disease in South Africa. The event was hosted by Life
Happy Rebirthday
Today, I stood at the window again. It was blustery outside, chilly even this side of the pane. I’d thought that the wonderfully soaking rain of the preceding 48 hours across the Eastern Cape would have brought a calm
My Talk at NAF Think!Fest 2017: Contested Legacy – The 50th Anniversary of Prof Chris Barnard’s Pioneering Heart Transplant
CONTESTED LEGACY: MARKING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF PROF CHRIS BARNARD’S PIONEERING HEART TRANSPLANT – Ray Hartle The news that Prof Christiaan Barnard of the University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital had carried out the
Balancing Drugs
It’s mostly about balance – of food, fluids, exercise, emotional wellbeing and medication, especially medication. Getting the right balance is critical for the survival of a heart transplant recipient. And nowhere is this more apparent than in the administering of
Part Of Chris Barnard’s Contested legacy
I would never have been a fan of Professor Chris Barnard, growing up in the 1960s and ’70s. He was, after all, an Afrikaner male in a country ruled by Afrikaner men who made it their life’s mission to legally
The Same Old Bugger I Ever Was
People ask me all the time: What does it feel like? I know immediately what they’re referring to, but feign uncertainty and send a question back: What do you mean? They say: Having someone else’s heart in your chest. No different,
What I Like About the New Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital
The flagship new Netcare hospital on Cape Town’s Foreshore to replace the existing Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital is purpose-built, with much high-tech medical equipment. It pays tribute to Prof Chris Barnard’s legacy as a researcher and surgeon, as well as
New State-of-the-Art Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital Revealed
Private hospital group Netcare today (Thursday) revealed its new state-of-the-art hospital facility on Cape Town’s Foreshore to replace the converted downtown commercial block which has housed the Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital until now. The R800-million new hospital which will eventually
Weekend Special
In order to avoid a charge that I was over-promising and under-delivering, I decided a week ago not to issue any updates on my probable discharge from hospital. So it may not have been completely apparent to you that I
Not Suitable for Friday’s Faafee or Powerball Draws: Big Numbers Part 1
There’s a reason I love words more than numbers. But I’ve realised over the years that not paying attention to the big numbers in any area of my life can lead to serious problems – it can even be a
“Maer boudjies” on a summery Friday
The heritage bequeathed to me by my family and its various strands of forebears is of “maer boudjies” – thin, spindly, boney legs. Those forebears mainly were the ones roaming the plains alongside Cape mountains and the Karoo – when
PART 2 (Please read first): No place for old pessimists
PART 2 I am going to avoid making any comments about the facts in this post – a previous version came across as too arrogant, triumphalist even. Our family has taken to using H1, Heart 1, for my original, birth
One week later
God of second chances – thank you!! From the moment last Tuesday morning when I said goodbye in my “waiting” hospital Ward to an emotional Jan, the Polish seaman who was being treated for pneumonia contracted off the Atlantic coast,
A New Heart Brings New Meanings
I’m re-discovering the (personal) meaning of two words I thought I always knew until today. Gobsmacked. Surreal. I understood this afternoon for the first time what it means to be totally and completely gobsmacked, when I heard of the availability
Donor Heart Match – Transplant Slated for October 11, 2016
I have today been told by doctors at Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital that a donor heart is available for me and will be transplanted tomorrow (Tuesday) morning. Head of the heart transplant unit Dr Willie Koen brought the news just
HEART UNIT SUCCESS
The Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital (CBMH formerly the City Park Hospital) in Cape Town, is where I am currently admitted while I await final authorisation of a heart transplant. The private hospital unit has had significant success in both heart
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