In November 2022 Rafeeqa became Groote Schuur Hospital’s Lung Transplant Programme’s first pulmonary hypertension Double Lung transplant survivor.
Western Cape, South Africa (05 June 2023) – Any form of rehabilitation requires sacrifice, dedication, and perseverance. These attributes perfectly describe pulmonary hypertension lung transplant survivor, Rafeeqa.
After being diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension shortly after giving birth to her son, six years ago, she finally got the call for her double lung transplant. Having her life drastically altered after her diagnosis, meant that the active life she lived and caring for her young son was difficult and frustrating. Rafeeqa was repeatedly misdiagnosed, she was treated for an embolic condition and hypertension. After several visits to the emergency room with breathing difficulties, she was correctly diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension. In August 2022, after five years of ineffective treatment, Rafeeqa was placed on the transplant list.
A rare and often life-threatening disease, pulmonary hypertension affects two of our most vital organs, the heart and lungs. Pulmonary hypertension increases the strain on these organs, straining the heart and impairing blood circulation throughout the body, causing shortness of breath, dizziness, and chest pain.
Rafeeqa’s rapidly deteriorating condition meant that she was eligible for Groote Schuur Hospital’s Lung Transplant Programme, the only programme of its kind in Africa offering medical assistance and therapy to uninsured patients. Through the programme, Rafeeqa was able to undergo a double lung transplant surgery, in November 2022, and become the programme’s first pulmonary hypertension transplant survivor.
As with any transplant, the recovery journey requires patience and focused rehabilitation, which is not always possible in the state sector.
After her transplant surgery, Rafeeqa spent four months in the ICU on a ventilator and ECMO machine (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), used to support patients with the functioning of their heart and lungs. Her prolonged stay in the ICU after major surgery meant that she was unable to walk, talk, or breathe for herself, she also suffered muscle wasting, weight loss and significant trauma.
Sub-acute rehabilitation is limited, and private rehabilitation is costly. In partnership with the Allied practices at Faircape Health, the decision was made to provide Rafeeqa with a pro bono stay at our world-class Faircape Health Tokai Rehabilitation facility, where she would receive the best care available and where medical practitioners would ensure that her new beautiful gift from a donor is used to the best of her ability.
Supported by her transplant team and family, Rafeeqa was admitted to Faircape Health Tokai on 5 April 2023. Her rehabilitation team included physiotherapists, occupational therapists, a psychologist, and a team of doctors. The multidisciplinary rehabilitation team’s pro bono therapy guaranteed that Rafeeqa’s new organs were being used by a functional body, capable of sustaining her renewed lease on life and returning her to a quality of life that’s meaningful.
The 31-year-old mother of a now six-year-old boy was discharged on 13 May 2023, after a five and half month ICU and rehabilitation stay. She was a guest speaker at the first-ever Pulmonary Hypertension Patients Perspective Symposium in association with the Jenna Lowe Trust held at Faircape Health Tokai on her day of discharge.
by 