Meet Luminathi

“Mama, am I going to die?” This is the most terrifying question 23-year-old East London mother Nomphelo has ever faced. But as a brave mother comforting her son who is in distress, a tiny smile while tears are streaming down her face, is all that she can manage. For a moment, it consoles him.

Nomphelo‘s seven-year-old son, Luminathi, was hit by a truck while crossing the road. His mother was just metres away and no matter how fast she could run, she would not have been able to save him from that tragic accident.

“It happened right in front of my eyes. I felt numb and helpless. I could not save my son,” she says, her voice breaking at the memory.

Due to the accident, Luminathi sustained a broken leg and head injury. Doctors had to ventilate the little boy because of the head injury. 

Luminathi would also lose his voice for about 7 months because he had sustained severe airway injuries.

He and his mother had to leave East London for him to get specialised medical care at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, in the Western Cape. The Hospital offers specialised paediatric healthcare services. It has a dedicated paediatric surgical airway reconstructive unit that is multidisciplinary and committed to serving all children.

Red Cross Children’s Hospital was Nomphelo’s last hope. She prayed that the surgery would help her son regain his voice.

“He used to be a free-spirited child. But he changed. He became angry and isolated himself. I would skip classes at college to go and check on him at school only to find him standing alone at the gates while the other children played,” the emotional mother recounts.

Explaining Luminathi’s condition, ENT specialist, Dr Shazia Peer says Luminathi had irreparable damage to his upper airway. She says the scar tissue closed off his trachea below his vocal cords.

“He could not breathe air into his lungs from his mouth the way we are meant to breathe,” she says.

Luminathi had a tracheostomy procedure to allow him to breathe through an artificial hole in the trachea. But he still had no voice.

Dr Shazia and her team became the little boy’s angels; they gave Luminathi his voice again – an opportunity for him to express himself.

They performed an open laryngotracheal reconstruction.

“This involves opening the airway below the vocal cords, identifying the scar tissue that damaged his trachea and permanently sealing off his airway, and resecting it completely. With this, we resected the tracheostomy hole out as well,” says Dr Shazia.

A week post-surgery, Luminathi is well on his way to recovery. His mom encourages him to communicate by speaking again, but he shies away a little. He will be travelling back to East London soon. The shy little boy excitedly shares that he is looking forward to returning to school.

“I can talk to my friends and teachers now, and I will play a lot with my friends,” he says, his eyes shining at the thought. His mother was speechless with gratitude at the Hospital staff’s love, care, and support.

“God is good,” she says, wiping a tear off her face.

Help more children like Luminathi access high-quality healthcare. Donate to the Children’s Hospital Trust. 100% of your donations goes directly to the cause.