Durban - A 31-year-old father from Howick is fighting for his life in a Pietermaritzburg hospital two weeks after he and his wife fell off the small Karkloof Falls.
André Pretorius went to take a picture of his family and friends but slipped while making his way back.
In an attempt to help her husband, 29-year-old Mar-Louise quickly handed her 3-year-old son to a friend and rushed to help him.
“I just wish I could have saved my husband from the very bad fall.
“I can remember the fear in his eyes as he realised what was going on,” said Mar-Louise.
Family friend Kayleen Esterhuizen said the couple slipped and fell off the three-level, 8m high falls, landing on rocks on each level before landing in the water.
Mar-Louise suffered a broken shoulder, broken hip and a fracture on the left side of her face and had surgery yesterday to repair a pinched nerve.
André has head injuries and internal bleeding which forced doctors to place him under an induced coma.
Esterhuizen said the extent of the head injuries are unknown and doctors were waiting for him to wake up.
“Doctors are giving him 48 hours to wake up and if not the family will be consulted to see what the next step would be,” said Esterhuizen.
The couple made the decision to cancel their medical aid three months ago to afford therapy - not covered by medical aid - for their son.
“He was deaf for a year and not as verbal as his peers,” said Mar-Louise.
As a result the couple’s medical bills are close to R400 000.
“I personally started a relief fund for them by opening a bank account and as of yesterday (Wednesday) it was sitting at R93000,” said Esterhuizen
An account was also opened with crowdfunding platform BackaBuddy to help raise funds.