Steve Hofmeyr 'gravely ill'
2008-05-05 22:55
Pretoria - Steve Hofmeyr is very ill.
He is in a serious condition in the ICU of a hospital in Gauteng after he underwent an emergency operation to repair a perforated colon.
The singer and actor's wife Natasha rushed him to hospital in the early hours of Sunday morning after he began having severe pain.
By doing so she may have saved his life.
She saved his life
She coincidentally returned from Pennington in KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday morning where the family had been on holiday.
Steve had returned to Gauteng a few days earlier.
If she had not returned home on Sunday morning, Steve would have been at home alone and he could have become fatally ill.
A friend of the couple, Amanda Singleton, said on Monday that although it was just speculation, "Steve could have died if Natasha had not happened to come home".
His condition is potentially life-threatening.
He apparently had been complaining of stomach pains the past few days but had not wanted to go to the doctor.
Steve's surgeon who specialised in gastroenterology (and who did not want his name publicised) said on Monday that the singer was "currently reasonably stable after the laparotomy but his condition is serious and I want to keep him in the knowledgeable care of the hospital personnel for at least a week before I will consider his discharge".
Because of the seriousness of Steve's condition, he was not allowed to have any visitors except his wife.
Even she was not allowed to be with him at all times but could only go to his bed for short periods at a time.
According to a statement on Steve's website, however, she had been with him the whole night on Sunday.
"He looks a little better this morning but is still weak," Natasha said on Monday morning according to the statement.
"Naturally Steve does not want to postpone performances and disappoint his clients and supporters."
"But this time it's not only we as his management team who are putting our foot down but also his own body and the doctor," she apparently said.
All Steve's performances were cancelled up to at least the end of the month.
These included performances in Vereeniging, Randburg, Pretoria, Welkom, Boksburg, Paarl, Rustenburg and Lichtenburg.
His management, Big Heart Productions said on Monday afternoon that they were sorry that the performances had had to be cancelled.
"As soon as there is more clarity over when he will be able to resume his programme, we'll try to reschedule clients who have been affected."