Durban - “My beautiful boy will never be the same again.”
These were the emotional words of Mark Lotter’s mother, Tanya Martin, after doctors told her that her son had come out of his 10-day coma with “severe brain damage” after an attack, allegedly by his former girlfriend’s boyfriend.
“He is basically mentally retarded and will never be able to walk, or feed himself for the rest of his life,” Martin said as she cried uncontrollably.
“He (the perpetrator) may have not killed him but he has robbed Mark of a life. He will never have children, never get married and never see the world. He is going to spend the rest of his life in nappies.”
Lotter spent a week in an induced coma at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital as surgeons waited for the swelling on his brain to subside.
He was brought out of the induced coma last Saturday and woke on Tuesday, his mother said.
“The doctors say he has severe brain damage and have suggested we find him a rehabilitation centre because he is going to need 24-hour care. His eyes are open but he is just blank. He does not recognise anyone and does nothing at the moment,” she said. “It breaks my heart.”
She said her son was a soft-spoken person who avoided confrontation.
“He had his whole life ahead of him. He had turned 21 just 11 days before the attack and everything seemed to be on track in his life. He did not deserve this.”
She said the family was in the process of finding a suitable rehabilitation centre as doctors said he would require intense occupational therapy over the coming months.
“He is basically a child again. He is going to have to learn to recognise people, learn to move and communicate with us. The doctors say this is going to take months if not years. I am also going to have to go on courses to learn how to look after him,” Martin said. “Not only is this a physical and emotional strain on me and Mark’s sister, but it is going to be a huge financial cost.”
Martin said doctors had advised them to keep talking to him and to play him his favourite music in the hope that it will help in the healing process. In the meantime, Martin said, she hoped justice took its course.
“We want justice for Mark but no sentence will ever make him the same again.”
Daily News