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“Great to come back home to my UFS family”

15 September 2021 | Story Jóhann Thormählen | Photo Charl Devenish

Louzanne read more — The University of the Free State celebrated the achievements of the Paralympic athlete, Louzanne Coetzee. She won silver and bronze medals at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

It is great to be back with her University of the Free State (UFS) family, and Louzanne Coetzee would not have been able to reach her dreams without her Kovsie support.

The Paralympic star thanked the UFS for the role it played in her career and said it was a privilege to represent the UFS and South Africa.

She returned from the Paralympic Games in Tokyo with silver (1 500 m; T11) and bronze (marathon; T12) medals and was welcomed back at a special UFS celebration on 13 September 2021.

The 28-year-old, her guides – Estean Badenhorst and Claus Kempen – and a small group of UFS dignitaries celebrated her achievements.

The Residence Head of Akasia Residence at the UFS not only brought home two medals, but also set a new 1 500 m African record (T11; 4:40.96) and a new world marathon record (T11; 3:11:13) in her class.

Support from home

Coetzee is a UFS alumna who started running while being a Kovsie student.

“Thank you so much for the welcome back,” she said.

“It is great to come back home to my UFS family. Especially after three weeks in another country.”

She said the support messages from the likes of Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, meant a lot while she was in Tokyo.

“I, Claus, and Estean would not have been able to do this without the support of the UFS and Oom DB (Prinsloo; Director of KovsieSport).”

Representing the UFS and the continent

She made special mention of Badenhorst and Kempen, who also run for the Kovsie Athletics Club. “I really feel we function well as a team, and I think the results have been fruitful.”

Prof Petersen praised and thanked them, also for representing the UFS, South Africa, and the continent in such a superb manner.

It is great to come back home to my UFS family. Especially after three weeks in another country. – Louzanne Coetzee

“You really made us proud as the University of the Free State family, and I know that you will continue with great performances in the future,” he said.

Prinsloo said KovsieSport is immensely proud of the trio and for being UFS ambassadors.

“Thank you very much. We are looking forward to the next couple of years.”

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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