How ECMO saved baby Nkateko's life during a severe respiratory crisis

WHEN two-month-old baby Nkateko Rivisi's chest infection suddenly turned serious, his mother remembers the horror of realising her son was not breathing properly and was slipping in and out of consciousness.

- STAFF REPORTER

“I knew we had to try to keep him awake. He needed urgent medical care, and so I drove with Nkateko on my lap to the emergency department at Netcare Waterfall City Hospital. I don't remember parking the car - I just rushed him inside and they immediately put him on oxygen,” Nthabiseng Mlangeni recalled.

Nkateko was first admitted to the paediatric unit and his mother was able to remain with her son, rooming in with him. After several days in the hospital, Nkateko was again struggling to breathe, despite medication and physiotherapy to help clear mucus from his lungs. Doctors transferred Nkateko to the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) under the care of paediatric intensivist Dr Palesa Monyake.

“In the PICU, they started him on high flow oxygen and Dr Monyake explained the unfamiliar environment to us, the treatment Nkateko was receiving and how they were monitoring his condition. It was the hardest thing to have to leave my two-month-old baby and go home because parents can't room in with their children in the high care environment,’ Mlangeni said.

“I did not sleep at all that night, between worrying about Nkateko and anxiously expecting a call from the hospital at any moment”

The next day, Nkateko’s vital statistics suddenly dropped further, requiring the baby boy to be placed on a ventilator, then on an oscillator to support his breathing.

“He started to swell up in response to the infection, and it was extremely frightening for us as parents to see all these tubes sticking out of our baby. Our families here in Gauteng and other relatives travelled from different provinces to support us. We knew it was a very serious situation, and we prayed constantly,’ Mlangeni said.