On the Road to Recovery

Khaalid, a spirited four-year-old with a warm smile and wild mop of hair, has been struggling with a painful hernia for most of his life. A hernia occurs when an organ pushes through the muscle or tissue containing it, creating a visible bulge that can come and go.

Since Khaalid was a year old, his mother, Rabiyah, has faced countless trips to their local hospital in Ocean View. Each time, the hernia would retreat before a doctor could see it, leaving them with nothing but paracetamol. Rabiyah and her husband, Fazloon, endured many sleepless nights, feeling frustrated by the lack of serious attention to Khaalid’s pain.

Eventually, Rabiyah photographed Khaalid’s hernia and showed it to a doctor.

Finally able to present some evidence, they were referred to the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, where a compassionate team of experts quickly recognised Khaalid’s need for surgery. The Weekend Waiting List, a special program designed for children like Khaalid who require elective procedures, offered them a chance to address his condition without the agonising wait typical of standard hospital schedules. The Children’s Hospital Trust raises funds to pay doctors for an extra day’s work in the week to shorten waiting times – and little Khaalid has been waiting for three years of his four-year-old life.

After waking up very, very early on a Saturday morning and traveling to Rondebosch from Ocean View, Khaalid is in surprisingly good spirits. “The doctors are going to make me better,” he says matter-of-factly, making his mother laugh. Rabiyah affirms that he’s been genuinely excited rather than scared – for him, the impending surgery is like a birthday party he has been counting down to for weeks. “He understands that they’re going to take his pain away.”

Khaalid is a little boy who loves construction vehicles and dinosaurs, and Rabiyah is looking forward to him being able to grow up focusing on his passions, not his pain. Khaalid had big plans to bring his whole fleet of construction toys to the ward that day, but eventually settled on a pocket-sized yellow excavator, which he rolls thoughtfully under his chin: a tiny philosopher lost in thought.

No parent ever brings their child in for surgery without feeling some nervous jitters and Rabiya is no exception. She flushes slightly when she admits that “one always fears the worst.” However, she quickly interrupts her doubts by recalling the countless friends and neighbours she has who’ve grown up being treated by the RCWMCH over the past thirty years. Three decades of high praise for the hospital fills her with confidence that they are in the right place, where Khaalid can finally grow into his childhood, unburdened by pain.