Silobonile suffers from biliary atresia, a condition in infants in which the bile ducts outside and inside the liver are scarred and blocked. Bile can’t flow into the intestine, so bile builds up in the liver and damages it. The damage leads to scarring, loss of liver tissue and function, and cirrhosis.
In February 2024 he travelled to Red Cross Hospital for assessment to see if he is a suitable candidate for the transplant list. After a week of tests, he returned home with good news – he is now on the transplant list.
The evening of 1 April 2024 we received the life changing call that a liver became available for little Silubonile. All flights out of Gqeberha were fully booked, the family had to travel to East London to catch a flight to Cape Town.
Our transfer company was fully booked, luckily Bevil, one of our Facebook friends, came to our rescue and fetched them from the airport and safely dropped them at Red Cross Hospital.
On 30 August, after 5 months in hospital, Silu returned home. He is doing so well and will regularly return to Red Cross Hospital for follow up appointments with the transplant team.
