When Nkateko finally cried again, after weeks of silence and machines, his parents wept with joy. Their baby boy was alive, breathing and beating every odd.
Johannesburg, South Africa (27 July 2025) – When tiny Nkateko stopped breathing properly, slipping in and out of consciousness, his mother, Nthabiseng Mlangeni, acted on pure instinct. She held her two-month-old baby in her arms, rushed to the emergency department at Netcare Waterfall City Hospital and watched doctors race to put him on oxygen.
What followed was a journey filled with fear, hope, extraordinary medical care and a deep belief in miracles.
Born just weeks earlier, Nkateko – whose name fittingly means “Blessing” – was admitted for a severe chest infection. At first, it looked like treatment was helping, but his little body continued to fight against the invisible grip of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a dangerous infection for infants with developing immune systems.
Despite medication and physiotherapy, Nkateko’s condition worsened. He was transferred to the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU), where paediatric intensivist Dr Palesa Monyake explained every step of his care to the family.
“The hardest thing was leaving my baby alone in that unit,” Nthabiseng recalls. “I didn’t sleep that night, I was just waiting for the phone to ring.”
And it did. Nkateko’s vitals dropped further. He was placed on a ventilator, then an oscillator, and eventually required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), an incredibly rare and high-risk procedure for babies.
“ECMO is essentially a form of life support where specialised equipment takes over the functions of the heart and lungs,” explains cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Sharmel Bhika. “Nkateko was deteriorating rapidly. This was his only shot.”
The ECMO procedure involved surgically inserting tubes into Nkateko’s tiny blood vessels, allowing his heart and lungs to rest while machines kept him alive. For three weeks, the baby’s life hung in delicate balance, watched around the clock by a dedicated team of doctors and PICU nurses.
“There were days we didn’t know if he would make it,” Nthabiseng says. “But the care, the constant updates, the prayers from our families and the hospital team… it carried us.”
Sister Jabulile Nxumalo and every nurse who cared for Nkateko became more than caregivers… they became part of the family. Dr Monyake not only treated Nkateko but also stood beside the family in prayer. It was, as Nthabiseng says, “a time of heartbreak and grace”.
Then, on Mother’s Day, hope came rushing back.
“They took him off ECMO that day and it was the greatest gift I could have received,” Nthabiseng beams. “We showed up at the hospital three hours early just to be near him.”
From that point, everything changed. Nkateko no longer needed machines to breathe. He cried – a sound his parents hadn’t heard in over a month.
“We just held him and wept. He was really coming back to us.”
Tiyani Rivisi, Nkateko’s father, says the experience strengthened their marriage and their faith.
“Our world was turned upside down. But we stood together. Our families, the hospital staff, and our God – they held us up.”
Now five months old, Nkateko is a thriving bundle of energy.
“He’s always hungry,” Nthabiseng laughs. “It’s like he’s catching up on everything he missed.”
Their gratitude is endless. For the doctors, nurses, and support staff. For their families. For their faith. And for Nkateko… their little fighter who reminded them that even during life’s most terrifying moments, light finds a way in.
“He is our Blessing,” Nthabiseng says simply, “and we are so grateful to still be holding him today.”
Sources: Netcare
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