Steve Hofmeyr 'doing well'

2008-05-06 22:27

Philip de Bruin

Pretoria - Steve Hofmeyr recovered so "remarkably" during day on Tuesday, after an emergency operation on Sunday, that he was transferred from the intensive-care unit of a Gauteng hospital to a private ward.

His condition changed from "life-threatening" to "serious, but out of danger" in the short time since he had woken in the ICU.

Steve was rushed to hospital in the early hours of Sunday morning and immediately underwent an emergency operation to repair a perforation of his colon.

It was still not clear by Tuesday night what had caused the perforation.

A gastroenterologist from Pretoria described the perforation as "very unusual in such a young man" and said there must have been an underlying cause.

These types of perforations were found, by and large, in elderly people and often were fatal.

Condition has improved

In Steve's case, the perforation also had been life threatening.

If the content of his colon, which was "inherently unsterile", had landed up in his stomach cavity, his body could have become septic and this could have lead to his death.

A friend of Steve and his wife, Natasha, said on Tuesday that Steve's condition had improved considerably since Sunday.

"He was transferred to a private ward (on Tuesday) afternoon.

"Natasha has also found her feet again after the initial shock and is a source of strength and inspiration for Steve."

She said that various tests probably would be done now on Steve to find out what had caused the perforation.

"His medical team is satisfied with his progress."

- Beeld