We have had numerous traumatic experiences in our lives, but there are very few that can compare with Frikkie contracting the “Flesh Eating Bacteria” Necrotising Fasciitis late in 2007 in Mozambique.

It was a long and painful experience for the whole family.  But God performed a miracle for us and we came through victorious.

Family and Friends rallied around and we saw what it means to be loved beyond measure.

Some of the images and movies (coming later) are a bit graphic, so if you are a sensitive person don’t visit the following page.

To the thousands of people world wide who have lost loved ones to this terrible bacteria, we appeal to you to make your story known, and also offer you our most sincere condolences.

The same goes for those who have survived, let’s share our experiences.  A family in Turkey allowed the medical team, who failed to save the life of their loved one, to put his story on the internet.

That information saved Frikkie’s life!

My Family and Other Angels

Late in 2007 it dawned on us that we had not planned anything as a family for Christmas!  So in no time at all we contacted our daughter Sonya who lives in Cape Town asking her to join us with our son Neil.  She was able to book a flight to Vilankulos so we could be together for Christmas day!

A few days before we left Vila Maninga, a community project we had started in 1992, Frikkie began to feel ill so we treated him for Malaria, as he had typical Malaria symptoms.

By the time he had finished the course of tablets, he showed no signs of improvement, so we started him on a second course, this time with antibiotics.

We arrived at our camp site a couple of days before Christmas, but Frikkie’s condition did not improve.  By now his left knee started to show signs of inflammation, and we put it down to all the delicious crab dishes Neil was making for us, maybe it was gout.  Throughout the night of the 23rd of December his temperature raged constantly and living under camping conditions did not help the situation at all!  It was an effort to persuade him to get under the shower to try and get his temperature down, as sponging him down was not working. He was in agony, with his knee now starting to swell badly, we resorted to giving him strong sleeping tablets to allow him some respite, as the pain killers we had had no effect.

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