Walking Free: Natalie’s Story

The orthopaedic clinic is about to open at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital. The first patient to arrive is 16-year-old Natalie. She sits bolt upright, perched on the edge of her wheelchair, her hands gripping the wheels lightly, her body tense with anticipation. Today is a big day. Today, she hopes, will be the day her Ilizarov frame is removed, the day she can move freely, unencumbered by the weight of metal encasing her newly straightened leg. She eagerly watches the door leading to the consulting rooms, listening intently for her name each time it opens.

Beside her, her mother, Natasha, watches her daughter with a gentle smile on her face. She knows how much this means to Natalie, how long they have waited for this moment, and just how much it has cost them.

A cry from across the waiting room catches Natalie’s attention. She wheels herself toward a hospital bed where a younger girl lies curled up, her body shaking as she tries to stifle her cries. Both of her legs are encased in Ilizarov frames. She comforts the child, reassuring her that she’s going to be okay. Natalie understands what she is feeling. When she was a child, a deformity in her shinbone had slowly worsened as she grew. Natasha had noticed when she was just seven years old.

“I saw that she couldn’t walk properly,” Natasha recalls, a mixture of sadness and frustration on her face. “I took her to the hospital in Port Elizabeth, and they said she needed surgery. But they said there was no money for the operation. That was the story that they always told us.” She shakes her head quickly. They went back time and again but always got turned away.

“Eventually, I gave up. There was nothing I could do.” Natasha says softly, her head dropping. Natalie threw herself into academics and is a grade above her peers at school.

Years passed, as Natasha tried to push the painful reality aside, but the thought of her daughter’s struggle always niggled in the back of her mind. Then, in 2024, when Natalie was 15, she decided to try one last time. This time, their lives were about to change. When they visited their local hospital, the doctors referred them to the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital in Cape Town.
The journey was long— an eight-hour drive— from home to the Hospital, but every kilometre was worth it. When they arrived, the doctors examined Natalie and decided that surgery was still possible, even though her bones had finished growing. Natalie underwent the operation soon after.

It wasn’t easy. Natalie was confined to a wheelchair for several months. They had to travel back and forth from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town for check-ups and therapy sessions. Through it all, Natalie was quietly determined. And now, today, she sits on the edge of her wheelchair, living a moment that she and her mom had dreamed about for so long.

The door to the consulting room opens, and her name is called. The future opens wide in front of her.
The addition of a dedicated orthopaedic unit to the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, which will house the services and specialist training previously provided by Maitland Cottage Children’s Orthopaedic Hospital, will improve efficiency and ensure that children like Natalie – coming from across the Western Cape and beyond – receive comprehensive, high-quality orthopaedic care in one place.