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20 December 2021
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Story Igno van Niekerk
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Photo Igno van Niekerk
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Dr Samantha Potgieter, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Internal Medicine and Dr Nicholas Pearce, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Surgery comment on their team members’ commitment and determination during the pandemic.
On the forefront of the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, two UFS doctors are leading a team of inspired healthcare workers in a superhuman effort to make a positive difference.
With the pandemic in its second year and the recurring challenges of new waves and strains consistently in the news, one would expect the doctors to be tired. However, quite the opposite is true. Upon entering the office where Dr Samantha Potgieter, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Internal Medicine and Dr Nicholas Pearce, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Surgery are in a meeting with colleagues, the debate is vibrant; an energetic sense of mission.
Miraculously succeeded
My brief is to collect stories and experiences they’ve had over the past 18 months at the Tumelo ward for general and high-care patients, where the team has miraculously succeeded in not running out of oxygen or ventilators, despite handling high volumes of patients from the Free State and Northern Cape. “We saw those pictures of piled-up bodies in Italy. We were committed to avoiding that at all costs. And we did.”
Success stories? First mentioned are their team members’ commitment and determination. The team had to stand in when families could not support dying patients. “They did not die alone. Our team was there.”
“Really sad and frustrating are the deaths that could have been prevented. Unvaccinated patients. They arrive ill, wanting to know if they can get it. Too late...” – Dr Nicholas Pearce
Then came hope
Sad stories? The past year has had its share of sad stories. “Someone comes in during the morning, needs oxygen, in the afternoon they are in ICU, then ventilator – and then they die. We’ve never faced anything like this before.”
Then came hope. Vaccines. Dr Pearce is in charge of the vaccination site at Universitas Hospital. “Really sad and frustrating are the deaths that could have been prevented. Unvaccinated patients. They arrive ill, wanting to know if they can get it. Too late ...” He opens his cell phone – shares the stats. “We can handle 2 000 vaccinations a day. At the moment about 250 comes in.” He shakes his head.
“We can beat this virus, but we need to stand together ...”
Students win bursaries
2009-02-24
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Altogether eight students from the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Department of Afrikaans, Dutch, German and French recently received bursaries from the “Suid-Afrikaanse Vereniging vir Neerlandistiek” (SAVN). Six third-year students received bursaries to the value of R6 000 and two postgraduate students received a bursary to the value of R7 500 each. Here are, from the left, front: Lizanne Dippenaar, SAVN scholar, Esté Kemp, SAVN scholar; Lillian Strauss, SAVN scholar, and Camille Ferreira, SAVN scholar; back: Carika le Roux, SAVN scholar, Anita van Vuuren, SAVN scholar, George Wasserman, who passed an internationally known German language proficiency exam from the Goethe Institute on level B2 with distinction, Susan Conradie, SAVN scholar, Elmarie Lubbe, SAVN scholar, and Beate Gadinger, who passed the language proficiency exam of the Goethe Insitute and has a scholarship from Deutsche Academische Austausch Dienst (DAAD). She also received a Sur-place-Stipendium bursary to the value of R15 000 for German.
Photo: Supplied |