Cape Town - He is not only a fighter who never gives up, but also a winner who has touched the hearts of many by overcoming a number of obstacles in a short space of time.
Meet Travonne Rhoda from Kraaifontein. Travonne has bronchiolitis obliterans - also known as popcorn lung - which obstructs the smallest airways in the lungs.
Diagnosed in 2017, Travonne, 4, has been in and out of hospital since he was 6 months old and spent Christmas and New Year in hospital in 2017 and 2018.
However, friends, family and hospital staff at Melomed Bellville Hospital made his “second home” as comfortable as possible so that he could still enjoy the holidays.
His mother, Simone Rhoda, said it all started a few years back when they took him to hospital after he had a bad cough.
“Doctors did tests that confirmed he had the adenovirus (which affects the lining of eyes, airways, lungs, intestines, urinary tract, and nervous system) and the X-rays confirmed that he had double pneumonia which damaged his one lung,” she said.
Travonne has spent time in hospital every year since he was born.
Most recently he was discharged in September and was rushed back four days later. He has been in hospital ever since and is in ICU.
Rhoda said her son was a miracle.
“On the 29th of September I got a call to come in urgently and as I entered the room they were busy resuscitating on him and he was put on life support. The following day the doctor called us in to say he won’t make it because his organs were starting to fail but he pulled through. He was on and off life support until the end of November before doctors put him on the airvo machine which helps him breath,” said Rhoda.
“What was so special was that when we came out of the room, the whole shift that was off-duty stood in the corridor crying because of the impact my son has in their lives. The hospital staff has made it bearable during our stay at Melomed. I can go to work knowing that my son will be fine,” she added.
“He is like any 4-year-old who is always busy and likes being on YouTube. He is a big fan of Emo Adams and loves the song Ben 10 sung by Early B. When it comes to sport, rugby is his number one, especially when the Springboks are playing,” she said.
For the past two years the Travonne Sevens Rugby Tournament has taken place in Hawston and Mount Pleasant to raise funds for him.
Last year a “Travonne Dream Team” was picked to compete in this year’s competition.
On Christmas Eve, Tygerberg RFC visited Travonne in hospital after they heard about his story on Facebook.
The club’s under-20 manager, Wayne Titus, said: “We looked for sevens tournaments and came across one in Hermanus that was in aid of Travonne, but did not take part due to injuries.
“We then went to visit him and donated some of our prize money from the WPRFU Sevens competition, brought the little guy a ball and a SA rugby jersey signed by playmaker Justin Geduld,” he said.
Geduld accompanied the WPRFU 2018 sevens champions when visiting. He said Travonne had touched him deeply because he is living on machines that help him to breath.
“He can still have a smile on his face no matter his situation. He is the happiest, friendliest and funniest child I ever met considering his condition,” he said.
First at Sports Training (FAST) owner and Bellville Athletics Club coach Alroy Dixon said after the club’s meet last year he received a number of pictures of the event, but the one that stood out was when he saw Travonne wearing one of the medals.
A few days later, Dixon and his colleague, Aneesah Haupt, paid a visit to the hospital, where they brought a box full of goodies such as yoghurts, cheese, milk, juices, caps and T-shirts.
“The little guy gets up to fight this battle of life, which is a winning person for me. One should live life to the fullest and if you can help someone out there do it, don’t hesitate,” he said.
Simone Rhoda said car enthusiasts Static Nation and musical group Vocal Associates has also played a part in helping Travonne.
“The support and prayers are amazing and something we never expected. The donations are all blessings and we are so grateful,” said Rhoda, whose latest project is a stationery drive.
“We also want to give back to the community because you can’t always be on the receiving side. We as a family are collecting stationary for a needy Grade R class. Those who want to support this worthy cause can drop off donations at Melomed Bellville,” she added.