Fifteen-year-old Emma Pringle who fractured her spine in a diving accident was due to undergo surgery on Tuesday, at the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital in Johannesburg.
On Monday, Pringle’s cousin told Talk Radio 702 that she fractured her spine while diving into the swimming pool at her Edenglen home last week but unfortunately still had not been operated on.
The Defence Ministry heard the appeal and sent a specialist to assess her condition on Monday.
Everyone involved said the public servants strike was not to blame for the delay in her medical care but that they were waiting for a top surgeon to return from Port Elizabeth.
Pringle’s mother Heather said her daughter’s condition was very severe.
“At this stage they have told us she is paraplegic. She has slight movement in her arms, no movement in her hands and no movement from her waist,” said Heather.
[Story by Rahima Essop from Eyewitness News]