Giving birth and bringing that little human being into the world, holding them for the first time is one of the happiest and most fulfilling experiences in a woman’s life, at least that’s what we all hope until something goes wrong.
It was Thursday, August 24 2017 at exactly 07:30 when I welcomed little Senzelwe to this world. It had been an emergency Caesarean however the birth was normal until just few minutes after Senzelwe was born.

Immediately post labour I started feeling dizzy, it got worse to a point where I started seeing very faintly. I alerted the doctors in the room, whom immediately gave me O+ blood. It didn’t get better but instead, it got worse by the minute. I wrestled with a feeling until I found myself being told to keep my eyes open, there was suddenly panic in the
room, shouts from all around “do we have at least 5 units of O+positive blood in the room?” the doctor asked in panic.

It dawned on me to me that I was faced with possible death. Worry engulfed me, all I was thinking was my two-year-old at home and this baby that I had just brought to this world. “They will never remember me should I die,” I thought in fear.

I went back to theatre after a diagnosis of Post-Partum Haemorrhage (bleeding from the placenta) was done, and Re- Laparotomy ( a surgical incision into the abdominal cavity) was done, at this point my HB was at 5.8 as opposed to 12.0 to 15.5 which is considered normal. I was then re-opened and options for management of my conditions at the point was Hysterectomy (operation to remove all or part of the uterus) and uterus packing (management of bleeding through packing
the uterus), and they chose the latter. I have never felt so much pain in my life,
the five hours of agony became the longest time of my life, I had in that one night received 8 units of blood and more few days after.

What mattered after all the chaos, was I was safe and alive, I had another chance to see my little girls grow.
It’s been joy to see them grow, Mihla is now two years and Senzelwe six months and it’s all because of a decision of that selfless individual, I will never know.

I am grateful to every blood donor, they are not just donating blood that gets wasted, it is blood that gives people like me a second chance in life and children to see their parents, it goes a long way. There is absolutely no value that can be attached to a gift a blood donor gives, it’s a gift greater than all, it is a gift of life.