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Leading women honoured at faculty opening

12 March 2019 | Story Eugene Seegers | Photo Eugene Seegers

At its recent opening, the Faculty of Theology and Religion conferred the inaugural Letsema Award on Dr Ellen Vuyiswa Blekie, a medical doctor known for her sterling work in her local community in Thaba Nchu, as well as on the various church councils and committees on which she still serves at the age of 87. Dr Gideon van der Watt, director of the “Partners in Mission” unit of the Dutch Reformed Church in the Free State, presented the award to Dr Blekie on behalf of the faculty.

The theme of the morning’s proceedings was: The church and violence against women and children. This theme was not only borne out by the worship service presented by Rev Martin Laubscher, but also by each of his participants. First, a popular song from 1987, My Name is Luka, by Suzanne Vega, was recited in spoken-word form. The song deals with themes of physical and emotional abuse, as well as being kept silent as a victim. Next, the Paulette Kelly poem I Got Flowers Today was recited. The final stanza begins with the words “I got flowers today.../Today was a special day — it was the day of my funeral...”

Dr Carin van Schalkwyk, who has been serving the Philippolis community and congregation since 1993, conducted the liturgy. Her chosen passage was 2 Samuel 13, which recounts the events leading up to King David’s son Amnon raping his half-sister Tamar and the subsequent cover-up by the king and his sons. Dr Van Schalkwyk likened the way David of old handled the situation to the modern church’s failure regarding the protection of women and children, stating these vulnerable ones have been failed miserably.

Dr Van Schalkwyk added: “The root of the problem has not been addressed. It requires a rethinking of both preaching and policy, even of theology. All are created in God’s image; what does that mean?”

Concluding, she said, “We need to hear the lament of those affected, and weep with them. I dream of a day when women do not have to think of how to avoid sexual harassment on a daily basis.”

News Archive

Medical team performs first hybrid procedure in the Free State

2014-12-08

The days when a heart operation meant hours in an operating theatre, with weeks and even months of convalescing, will soon be something of the past.

A team of cardiologists from the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Faculty of Health Sciences once again made medical history when they performed the first hybrid procedure in the Free State.

The Department of Paediatric Cardiology, in conjunction with the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, performed this very successful procedure on a 45-year-old woman from Kuruman.

During the procedure of 30 minutes, the patient’s thorax was opened up through a mini thoracotomy to operate on the beating heart.

“The patient received an artificial valve in 2011. Due to infection, a giant aneurism developed from the left ventricle, next to the aorta. Surgery would pose a very high risk to the patient. Furthermore, her health was such that it would contribute to problems during open-heart surgery,” explains Prof Stephen Brown, Head of the UFS’s Department of Paediatric Cardiology.

“After the heart was opened up through a mini thoracotomy, the paediatric cardiologists performed a direct puncture with a needle to the left ventricle cavity. A Special sheath was then placed in the left ventricle to bypass the catheters. Aided by highly advanced three-dimensional echocardiography and dihedral X-ray guidance, the opening to the aneurism, located directly below the artificial aorta valve, was identified and the aneurism cannulated.”

During the operation, a special coil, called a Nester Retractor, was used for the first time on a patient in South Africa to obtain stasis of extravasation and ensure the stability of devices in the aneurism.

“This is highly advanced and specialist work, as we had to make sure that the aneurism doesn’t rupture during manipulation and the devices had to be positioned in such a way that it doesn’t cause obstruction in valve function or the coronary artery. The surgical team was ready all the time to switch the patient to the heart-lung machine should something go wrong, but the procedure was very successful and the patient was discharged after a few days.”

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