Wayde was a wee one - now the athletics giant is helping premature babies

22 February 2017 - 16:33 By Claire Keeton
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Wayde van Niekerk. File photo
Wayde van Niekerk. File photo
Image: Wessel Oosthuizen/Gallo Images

Olympian gold medallist Wayde van Niekerk‚ whose life hung on a thread when he was born two months premature‚ on Wednesday gave hope to mothers he met at the neonatal ICU at Groote Schuur Hospital.

Van Niekerk is a champion of the Newborns Groote Schuur Trust‚ having donated half a million rand to the them in August and securing them ICT support through his partnership with the company T-Systems.

“I grew up listening to stories from my mom about being prem and it is a privilege to contribute to something which is close to her heart and mine. This is any son’s dream‚” said the star sprinter.

Van Niekerk weighed about a kilogram when he was born at 29 weeks and was just flesh and bone‚ needing a blood transfusion and treatment for jaundice‚ his mother‚ Odessa Swarts‚ said.

But she added: “Growing up he was always healthy and only went to the doctor once. We found this out when re-applying to put him on our medical aid when he turned 18.”

The youthful Swarts‚ flanked by her son‚ said: “Prem babies can turn out the strongest. They start fighting the first second they come into the world for their lives. My son is such a fighter and never gives up.”

His coach‚ Tannie Ans Botha‚ at the hospital with them‚ said Van Niekerk is ''very tough mentally'' and humble.

“He is a very special person and it is a privilege working with an athlete of such outstanding calibre‚” said Botha. T-Systems helped Van Niekerk form the Wayde Dreamers Foundation and on Wednesday announced initiatives taken to improve patient management systems in the neonatal unit.

Neonatologist Dr Yaseem Joolay said the support of T-Systems would make a difference‚ for example‚ by helping to reach the parents of prem babies to prevent blindness by timeous retinopathy screening.

The hospital’s neonatal ICU has 75 beds and cares for about 2 000 babies a year.

Van Niekerk said the doctors and nurses who work there are inspiring and thanked them. “We learn about love from them and I live for love‚” he said.

His relationship with the Newborns Trust started in 2013 after he and his mother paid a visit to the neonatal ward. She said: “When we left he said‚ 'I think we must invest here. I have never seen tiny babies like that'.

“One of three moms we saw told me that she now had hope for her little one after seeing Wayde.”

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