Story audio is generated using AI
What was supposed to be a 45-minute procedure ended up in a stay in the intensive care unit and more than three months in hospital for Nelson Mandela Bay DA caucus leader Rano Kayser.
Fortunately, a team of top medical professionals was able to reverse a near-fatal diagnosis for the councillor with a unique and rarely performed procedure.
Kayser said he was caught off guard when his health issues started escalating, turning what was meant to be a fairly common measure into miracle surgery following his diagnosis with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) .
“In November last year, I developed abdominal pains. I was admitted to Mercantile hospital for a week and got a return date to see a specialist.
“The specialist advised that I needed to have a small medical procedure done and it was booked for March 5,” he said.
“That morning, I still attended the council meeting and my daughter, Courtney, picked me up at the meeting and took me to hospital.
“In my wildest dreams, I did not expect what happened after the procedure. I developed respiratory challenges.
“All the while Courtney was waiting downstairs to drive me home, my health suddenly took a bad turn.”
Courtney said she was shocked when her father was subsequently intubated and her family was told there was “nothing more they can do for him”.
“A ventilator kept him alive. His diagnosis was acute respiratory distress syndrome,” she said.
“The doctor said the moment he was taken off the ventilator, he would die. That was frightening.
“He advised that the last hope they had was extracorporeal membrane oxygenation [ECMO].
“However, no-one in the Eastern Cape had ever survived this as the only three former patients died.
“The procedure involves pumping all the blood from the body and putting it back again.”
Kayser was moved to Greenacres Hospital where he was operated on.
He said the operation was a huge success and he was the first one in the Eastern Cape to successfully undergo ECMO.
Kayser was in ICU for two months and in a coma for four weeks.
“I am forever grateful to the Lord. It is only grace that took me through it all,” he said.
“It was a 50/50 situation between life and death.
“My friends came to my bedside and said I was not going to make it.
“The staff at Greenacres Hospital were wonderful. All of them. They gave me the willpower to go on.”
He said at the end of April, he went to Aurora hospital for a month’s rehabilitation.
“I could not walk or move my arms. Nor could I speak initially.
“My message to leaders is to take care of themselves. Life is too busy and fast.
“Look after yourself and set your mind right.”
Follow The Herald WhatsApp channel today and stay connected to the stories shaping our world.
The Herald
