This young woman is suing medics for £2million after she woke up after knee surgery to discover one of her legs had been amputated.
Nontobeko Shongwe, 21, from Mpumalanga, South Africa went into her leg surgery with the usual pre-operation jitters but never expected what was to come.
As she was roused back to consciousness, she looked down in horror to find one of her legs missing.
It had all started with pain in her left knee that led to an X-ray and a biopsy.
The tests revealed that Nontobeko had synovial sarcoma, a type of cancer.
Synovial sarcoma is a cancer that can come from different types of soft tissue, such as muscle or ligaments.
It is often found in the arm, leg, or foot, and near joints such as the wrist or ankle.
She was referred to one hospital after another until she spent nine days in Steve Biko Hospital last June to get some tests done.
In November she returned to the hospital for a check-up and was told she needed surgery.
But it was only the beginning of the horror for her, as she found herself without one of her legs after she woke up from the surgery.
“I couldn’t understand how I went there to have my knee fixed and woke up with no leg,” said Nontobeko.
“I asked the nurses what happened and asked to speak to my doctor, but they told me he wasn’t around.
“When I was discharged two days later, I refused to leave the hospital until I’d spoken to the doctor who’d operated on me.
“The nurses’ attitudes changed for the worse.
“They wouldn’t answer the bell when I called for them and they wouldn’t give me pain medication until I’d been crying for hours.
“It’s not something I ever thought would happen to me.
“I’m angry that I don’t have my leg anymore.”
Nontobeko claims that the doctor admitted to his fault and nicked one of the main veins supplying blood to the legs when he met her a week later.
“He said I was bleeding out too quickly and to save my life, he had to cut off my leg,” she said.
“When my family requested a meeting with the doctor and hospital management that same day, the surgeon changed his story about what had happened.
“He said he was forced to amputate my leg because I was bleeding profusely, he didn’t mention anything about nicking my vein.
“The doctor was negligent and reckless and botched my surgery.
“I am now suing the Gauteng department of health for £2million in damages.”
Nontobeko wanted her amputated leg as she wanted to dispose of it in a manner suitable to her cultural traditions. However, she was denied this by the hospital.
“To make matters worse, the hospital refused to return my amputated leg,” she said.
“This would’ve given me some closure.
“It would have enabled me to dispose of the amputated leg in a culturally appropriate manner.
“The hospital told me it wasn’t procedure to return limbs.”
Now after that horrifying botched surgery, Nontobeko’s life has changed so much that she feels helpless.
“I can’t do anything for myself – my mum or sisters help me bathe and get dressed,” she said.
“I had a boyfriend but since I’ve had the operation, things have changed.
“I think he’s scared but I can’t speak for him.
“When I go out people stare and talk about me, either to my face or behind my back.
“Kids ask their parents if I’ve really got one leg and I feel vulnerable when I’m outside because if something bad were to happen, I can’t run away.
“I can’t just go visit my friends or go horse riding and travelling in taxis is hard and the drivers aren’t always understanding.
“Everything takes longer now and I always have to have someone with me.”
Even with a prosthetic leg that she received from Rob Ferreira Hospital, life isn’t any easier for Nontobeko.
The case with the hospital will take some time to reach a conclusion. Meanwhile Nontobeko hasn’t lost her aspirations to be an auditor some day.
“The prosthetic leg is very hard to get used to,” she said.
“It shifts upwards when I sit and it’s just not my leg.
“At the end of the day, I still have one leg and nothing can change that.
“The money isn’t going to bring my leg back, but this just can’t be the end of everything.”