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'Only God can save Brenda'
10/05/2004 10:14 - (SA)
Ali Mphaki, Nhlanhla Ncaca and Mmuso Pelesa
Johannesbrurg - A battle rages around ailing pop diva Brenda Fassie. The doctors have declared that they cannot save her and have left her fate in the family's hands. They are faced with the prospect of switching off the life support system that is keeping her barely alive or hoping for a miracle.
The family feels that switching off the machines would be tantamount to killing her and have instead left her fate in "God's hands". In this they have the support of priests, who affirm that life belongs to God and only He can take it.
All these parties had by Saturday turned Fassie's bedside vigil in the ICU of the Sunninghil Hospital into a tension-filled tinderbox, with extended Fassie family arguing with her recording company CCP/EMI over payment for expensive hotel bills and flights for relatives.
The record company is footing Fassie's hospital bill, which by Saturday was said to have reached R100 000. A team of medical experts, led by a specialist physician, a neurologist and a neuro-physiologist, on Friday told the family "there is nothing more" they could do for her.
Fassie is believed to have suffered damage to four sections of her brain, leading to the family announcement saying "generally her medical condition was deteriorating rapidly". She is now breathing with the asistance of a respirator. If it were to be switched off, she would die immediately.
Fassie's family will, however, not allow the life support system to be removed despite the soaring cost of having her on it. Themba Fassie, her brother, on SAturday said the thought of taking Brenda off the support system had not even crossed the minds of family members.
"I am not saying Brenda will be better. She is OK and I do not underestimate the power of prayer. It's all about faith," he said.
While her doctors can do little more, Themba on Saturday said that saw her moving for the first time since she was admitted to Sunninghill hospital 11 days ago.
"I am just back from her ward and I can say I saw some movement. This really excites me," he said.
Some of Fassie's close friends and colleagues were, however, concerned that the Fassie family were delaying the inevitable, saying it was unfair to the ailing star.
"What is the point of keeping her on this life support machine. It is very unfair," said a former colleague of Brenda's who asked not to be named.
A source close to the recording company on Saturday said Fassie's family was making "unreasonable" demands on the company, in some instances demanding that some of the family members be flown from Cape Town to Johannesburg and booked into five-star hotels. Some family members are also demanding that they be transported to and from the hospital and be given money for food.
- City Press
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South Africa
