Meet Rael 

Nobody wants to have to take their new-born baby to hospital. At Red Cross Children’s Hospital, medical staff know that when a child is brought to their door, it is because there really is nowhere else for that little one to go.

And moms like Sharon Alexander, almost instinctively, know that Red Cross is the only place to go. Trusting her instinct saved her three-week-old baby’s life.

Rael Alexander didn’t feed well from the moment he was born. Midwives and clinic sisters advised a different feeding schedule in the hopes that it would satisfy both baby and mum and reassured her that it wasn’t something to be too concerned about just yet. Sharon was not a new mother, and her instinct was already very developed through experience and a medical background. When she tried everything, and nothing helped, Sharon knew with absolute certainty where to go for help.

She clearly recalls the night she took her three-week-old son, Rael, to RCWMCH. “They listened. Red Cross listened,” she reiterates. Finally, Sharon was being heard. There is such power in being heard. And in a moment when this mother felt so powerless to help her ailing son, there were those who listened. She recounts the moment the doctor on call listened. Taking her aside to a family room in the emergency unit, the doctor explained to Sharon just how ill her baby boy was. After waiting anxiously into the small hours at the Red Cross Emergency unit, with a mixture of hope and trepidation, Sharon finally knew what the cause of Rael’s suffering was.

The diagnosis of bilateral dysplastic kidneys was both an enormous shock and an undeniable relief. At last, something could be done to keep her child alive. It was a new beginning for her son.

At just three years old, Rael would receive a viable kidney. But that is only ever half the story of healing. Supported by health workers, doctors and social workers, Sharon’s strength, determination, and absolute faith in her son’s journey opened the way for her to adapt her whole life to be the parent Rael needed most. Every sacrifice she made was always for her baby; friends and family rallied around to support her. The sisterhood of a best friend brings tears to her eyes as she recollects many moments of unconditional charity and selfless care that was bestowed on her young family at a time when nothing else but real family mattered.

There are moments in life – standing in an emergency room at a children’s hospital – when even strangers are our closest family. Baby Rael was taken into that refuge of family some nineteen years ago. A lively, witty, and confident young man now, Rael’s life is full of love and many sweet years, all because his mother was heard. Sharon knew how to make some noise, to set things in order, to give her son a new start. When she took him to Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, she gave him so much more.

With dreams of making Aliyah, a sacred move to his spiritual homeland of Israel, this young man knows no limits. Rael is part of a family that listens to every parent who walks through their doors, in any emergency, on any day. With every new year, Rael’s Red Cross family, together with his mother’s love, make it possible for him to live a life where dreams are possible.

Through the generous donations of our donors, the Children’s Hospital Trust can continue to raise funds to equip the Emergency Centre with state-of-the-art medical equipment, needed in life-saving medical emergencies, to help children like Rael. We are only R3 million away from our goal!

Donate today and help us reach our goal because Every Little One Counts.