Dianne Kruger found her husband unresponsive and thanks to her community WhatsApp group, was able to get him to the hospital.
Drumblade, South Africa (26 April 2023) – Dianne Kruger reached out to give thanks to her community WhatsApp group, which helped her get an ambulance to save her husband. She shared that they live in an area with limited connectivity and through the group, help was sent their way.
Dianne and her husband run an Alpaca Stud Farm in Drumblade, a small agricultural community near Walkerville in the far south of Gauteng. The community is not very developed and is made up of about 141 plots. For safety and a sense of community, there are several WhatsApp groups that residents of the area use to keep in touch.
In late March, Dianne was at home when she decided to pop into her husband Johan’s home office to talk. As she entered the room, she found him unconscious and completely tensed. She panic, and grabbed her phone, calling 10111. While she was on the phone with the emergency service, she jumped onto the local community group to inform her neighbours that they needed help.
Neighbours with better signal were able to get hold of an emergency service closer to the property and get them there in time.
At the time of the emergency, they had no idea what had happened to Johan, only that he had become unconscious three times during the ordeal. Dianne’s helper Melissa stayed with Johan, soothing him and keeping him calm while Dianne tried to get help via the phone.
She explained that her neighbours had advised her how to care for Johan while they waited for medical assistance, and others helped escort them to the hospital where Johan was taken.
Thankfully, once he arrived, a heart attack was ruled out. When she got home, she took some time to thank the entire community for their care, efforts and support.
Dianne says they have been unable to diagnose her husband to date but it looks like it may have been stress-related. Since the incident, the family has really felt great comfort living within their community.
“We are truly blessed to live in such a community.”
I love living in a small, supportive warm community – we support each other, warts and all when adversity strikes”
by 