Hovering in a dangerous place, kept alive by penicillin, resting and breathless, waiting for a life-saving phone call — veteran broadcaster Tom London is back at home, waiting to hear when he is going to have the operation that will “hopefully save my life”.
“The money is in Morningside Mediclinic’s bank account, I’ve seen my pulmonologist and am waiting to hear from the cardiothoracic surgeon and then they’ll set the surgery for as soon as possible, I imagine,” London told TimesLIVE Premium from his sick bed back at home in Weltevreden Park.
“I wake in the morning and feel I can do anything, but as soon as I start moving I get breathless and want to sleep. I am hanging in this grey, hazy, weird space with medication keeping me alive.”
London made headlines last week after he posted a raging rant on Facebook in which he spoke about the appalling conditions at Helen Joseph Hospital and the shoddy treatment by doctors to state patients desperate for care.
London recorded images of the broken state of the bathroom, described the suffering of a fellow patient who was strapped down and “screaming like an animal” while a group of doctors performed a lumbar puncture on him while chatting about local restaurants and dinner plans.
That patient died two days later, with the unattended corpse starting to attract flies after a few hours, prompting London to vent on social media and discharging himself after 13 days as a state patient.
You can’t imagine how you suffer in a state hospital — the mattresses are thin, the bathrooms are broken, you can’t bath and the food is dire
— Broadcaster Tom London
London went home and realised he was going to die without hospital treatment, so he made another desperate plea on Facebook, asking his friends to contribute to funding him at a private hospital. Once admitted to Morningside Mediclinic his story began running on mainstream media platforms.
London has empyema — pockets of pus in his lung cavity. It’s a bacterial infection caused by pneumonia, and has worsened, he said, because the infection was stronger than the antibiotics used to treat it, and he now needs surgery to have it removed as it is too advanced to be treated by medication or drained.
“Healthwise, I’m OK and not in pain and I’m breathing OK with my one good lung and my oxygen levels are good. Emotionally, I've been sick for a month and am glad to be home. When the money ran out the hospital discharged me and told me to come back when I’ve got the money for the operation.
“The thing I am most glad about is the suffering is over. You can’t imagine how you suffer in a state hospital — the mattresses are thin, the bathrooms are broken, you can’t bath and the food is dire. If you haven’t experienced it it’s hard to imagine how much you suffer.”
London’s descriptions of the conditions he was subjected to and the patient treatment he witnessed and experienced made headlines and sparked visits from authorities and high-level delegates such as premier Panyaza Lesufi and Gauteng health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko.
His friends organised a Back-a-Buddy page and hordes of London's supporters have crowdfunded the surgery he needs. It is a large-scale procedure — 150 minutes of theatre time — that will see him put into specialised ICU after and then moved to ICU, then high care and then a general ward in a recovery period estimated to last eight days.
London, who is being looked after by his brothers, said he will keep his supporters and funders updated on his progress via social media so they can follow his story as it unfolds.
“To describe the operation, as I understand it, the surgeon will make a 7cm incision under the ribs on my left side, into the pleural cavity. They will then cut through the diaphragm into the cavity and remove about 1.5l of infected pus in various pockets — pulling it all out bit by bit. A leathery skin has also grown around my lung so they will have to pull that off. Then they will wash it out with antibiotics, sew me up, put me on a ventilator and hopefully that will be the end of it.”
The operation costs have been quoted at R275,000 and just more than R300,000 has been raised on Back-a-Buddy. London hopes it will be enough to cover laboratory tests, X-rays, physiotherapy and Back-a-Buddy's commission. But, he says, no matter what, he doesn’t plan on asking for money from people again.
“My doctors have assured me walking is best for recovery so I am not going to a step-down facility. My plan is to do things as cheaply as possible and recover on my own and hopefully live through to the ‘what’s next for Tom?’ part of the story.”
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