And now, eight harrowing months later, Natasha Orien finds herself thrust into a role she never imagined that of a fulltime nurse for Tyler within the confines of their Gelvandale home. But Tyler's agony is not an isolated incident. In June, The Herald reported that Andiswa Vulani, 26, went to the same hospital complaining of stomach pains. Vulani underwent an operation for suspected appendicitis. But her wounds turned septic and she eventually died at her home in Wells Estate of septicaemia. Since then, at least five more people have come forward, claiming to have had a similar experience. This has prompted the SA Human Rights Commission SAHRC to investigate. The commission's Eastern Cape manager, Dr Eileen Carter, said it had taken note of the complaints emanating from treatment received by patients at Livingstone Hospital and registered an investigation. "The matter will now be addressed through its gazetted complaints handling procedures, which includes urgently engaging with the department of health within the province," she said. For Orien, the very thought FRANTIC WITH WORRY: Cynthia Loro, 60, from Joe Slovo, said her daughter was treated for appendicitis but ended up with septicaemia of hospitals is now a haunting reminder of the horrors they endured. "After everything, Tyler refuses to set foot in any hospital again," the distraught mother said. "What my child went through is every parent's worst nightmare. "He was as fit as a fiddle but came out as sick as a dog. "He lost a bit of his sight and was just terribly ill. "I was a school teacher and had to leave my fulltime job to look after him." Among the new complainants is Ruth Lohmann, who entered Livingstone for an appendix operation only to be wheeled out with septicaemia. The consequences 107 days booked off sick "My ordeal started about three years ago," Lohmann said. "I worked away a lot and started to complain of lower back pains. "As a result, I started seeing doctors who referred me for various scans, one of these being a CT scan. "When I received the CT scan results back they could see that I had an inflamed appendix and I was referred to a specialist." The father of three said the specialist, along with other doctors at Livingstone, then agreed that the appendix be removed and a laparoscopic appendectomy be performed. "I had got home following surgery, a week or two had passed and I was supposed to be back at work. However, I started changing colour and became extremely yellow along with a lot of weight loss and could hardly hold food down." Lohmann said he tried to go back to work but was turned away by his employer and told he needed to see a doctor before returning. "I went to the doctor, and the doctor then wrote a referral letter for me to go to emergency casualties at Livingstone and, when I got there, I was immediately given a bed and had no waiting period like I did before when I had the appendix removal done and slept on the floor, waiting," he said. "Once in the emergency ward, I was told they wanted to do exploratory surgery and, before this, they would take blood and see if they found REPORT CONTINUES: P2 Livingstone patients' horror stories under investigation REPORT FROM: P1 anything in my blood. "In the evening that same day, they returned saying that I would go into surgery and that's all I remember before I was unconscious and I then went into septic shock and fainted. "I woke up in ICU three days later unaware of anything that had happened to me in terms of surgery and had staples on my stomach." Lohmann said he had since been suffering from painful stomach cramps. "In November, I was forced to stay home for a month and went to see someone else about the problem. "They said I had permanent reflux disease and peptic ulcers. "I now take antacids every day and it's the consequence of the appendix removal." Domestic worker Cynthia Loro said her 27yearold daughter had a similar experience in March. "She was complaining of stomach cramps and severe vomiting and went to a hospital in Motherwell," she said. "Motherwell did a few tests and sent her home, but she was again in pain and was then sent to Livingstone the next day, and they realised it was her appendix and that it had burst. "Due to the burst, she also got septicaemia and it affected her heart so they operated again, two or three times then they realised all the pus wasn't removed. "She was close to death. "During the operations, they cut her from the breasts down to her pubic area ." Eastern Cape health spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said appendicitis was an infection of the bowel. "It can be that patients develop septicaemia, especially if the patient presents late or has comorbidities that increase their risk of postop complications," Kupelo said. "We have performed several such operations between the two cited procedures without necessarily having complications of septicaemia. "Each case has to be investigated and understood on its merits and likely unique set of circumstances." He said Tyler's appendix was already gangrenous before surgery and doctors had acted swiftly to save his life. Asked about the other complaints, Kupelo said he was not at liberty to divulge patients' personal information.

Source: The Herald