Durban - Sashni Daniel, who was injured by rock-throwing protesters, says she would not have lived to see her 28th birthday today had it not been for the public’s prayers and the tireless work of healthcare staff.
In an interview with The Mercury at her home in KwaDukuza (Stanger), Daniel said she was overwhelmed by how people rallied, prayed and reached into their pockets to raise funds for her.
“I am so thankful, I can’t even put it into words,” she said.
Sashni was seriously injured when she was hit on the head by a rock thrown at passing traffic during a protest in Shaka’s Head in February.
Several cars were stoned.
Sashni said she was also grateful to the healthcare workers who treated her, and to her boyfriend Bradley and family.
“My mother, who lives in Cape Town, phones me every day. In hospital I would tell the nurses my father was coming because I could hear crutches. His visits made my day,” she said.
Her father, Kovi, said they were amazed by the support.
Watch: Sashni Daniel who was seriously injured in the head by #RockThrowing protesters is finally home after more than three months in hospital. She talks about some of the challenges she still has to overcome. @TheMercurySA pic.twitter.com/gO6EY6SvbB
— Nosipho S Mngoma (@Mzoeloe) June 25, 2018
“There are too many people to mention by name. They gave us moral support, prayers, cash, kindness. One lady even renovated our bathroom to be wheelchair-friendly to accommodate Sashni. Her orthopaedic bed and her wheelchair were donated, her room cupboards were done last week a total stranger recognised her at a shop and gave her R400.”
He is also grateful to Sashni’s doctors at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital (IALCH).
“We went through three months of hell but I had faith in God and in the doctors I believe they are next to God. They were under pressure as well, because Sashni’s case was a challenge. After the first operation to clear blood clots, she picked up meningitis, which complicated matters, then she had the stroke which made matters even worse. But the doctors and nurses kept the faith throughout,” said Kovi.
Sashni was discharged from the IALCH after three months of intensive treatment, including multiple operations.
While she has movement throughout her body, she is not mobile and depends on others for full-time care.
“That is now our biggest challenge, getting a full-time carer for Sashni,” said Kovi.
Sashni lives with her elderly grandparents and Kovi, who has a disability caused by childhood polio, so they cannot lift her in and out of bed, and into her wheelchair.
Since being discharged, it is Bradley Naidoo, Sashni’s boyfriend of five years, who has assumed the role of full-time carer, halting his panel-beating business.
“Seeing the way she is now compared to where she was gives me the strength to accept what happened and do all I can to help her get back on her feet,” said Naidoo.
He had sent his nephew to fetch Sashni from work on the night of the attack in February.
“I was phoning to find out how far they were and he wasn’t answering. I had no idea at the time that he was panicking, trying to drive away from where the protesters were throwing rocks, with Sashni already hit and unconscious next to him,” said Naidoo.
Naidoo drove from oThongathi (Tongaat) to visit her every day in hospital.
“It was hard, especially when she couldn’t recognise me.
“I would cry by her bedside and she wouldn’t even ask me why because she didn’t know who I was. But I never gave up on her,” said Naidoo.
Sashni does not remember the incident but said it was wrong.
“I didn’t do anything the protest had nothing to do with me. They must know that they are hurting innocent people,” she said.
Despite mayor Ricardo Mthembu ordering an investigation into the incident, the KwaDukuza Municipality is yet to make contact with the family.