Marie Martins is a bright, articulate 16-year-old who should have her whole life ahead of her. Instead she has been given a death sentence by the very people who should be saving her because hospitals are overcrowded and under-equipped.
The teenager, who is suffering from kidney failure, yesterday left Cape Town's Groote Schuur Hospital in an ambulance for her hometown of Knysna, where she is not expected to live for more than a week without treatment.
Being from Knysna, George Hospital is where she should be receiving dialysis until a donor can be found, but they have said they are full and can't accommodate her.
Marie said she'd always been extremely healthy, but started feeling ill at school one day in January. She is a Grade 11 pupil at Knysna Secondary School.
"My feet started to swell and I felt tired and out of breath."
She was sent to George Hospital. "They took tests and found out that my kidneys weren't working, so I was sent to Groote Schuur for dialysis."
She has been having dialysis three times a week.
Marie has responded well to the treatment and appeared in good spirits yesterday, despite being told that George Hospital has declined to offer her the life-saving treatment.
Staff at Groote Schuur, who have come to know and love the girl they describe as smart and sweet, are upset that she has been sent home to die.
Lungi Hlakudi, a social worker in the renal unit at Groote Schuur, said George patients were assessed at Groote Schuur to establish whether they were suitable patients for lifesaving dialysis.
A panel comprising Hlakudi, doctors, specialists and the transplant co-ordinator sit every Thursday at midday to make the tough decisions on who lives and who dies.
Hlakudi said they found Marie was a good candidate for both dialysis and a transplant, but when they told George Hospital, they learnt it was full.
Groote Schuur cares for around 120 renal patients at any given time, and needs Marie's bed.
Hlakudi said the only chance for Marie now would be if someone stepped in to cover the costs of dialysis, which could be done privately.
It costs R850 to R1 000 per treatment for dialysis, or R15 000 to R20 000 a month. Patients can wait up to five years for a donor. Marie's family know it is a long shot but are praying for a miracle.
Her tearful mother Maggie, who arrived from Knysna yesterday to accompany her daughter home, said she would like to get help.
Faiza Steyn, the provincial health department spokeswoman, confirmed that dialysis slots at George Hospital were all occupied. "As soon as a slot becomes available Ms Martins would be duly considered. All the slots are filled with patients who are equally deserving of the treatment."
"We estimate that there are 1 000 patients in the public sector requiring long-term dialysis in the Western Cape, of which we can accommodate between 120 and 150 at Groote Schuur and Tygerberg, depending on the number of successful transplants," she said.