Dr. Rebecca

Pretoria Academic Hospital

My hero, Dr. Rebecca van Katis, works in Pretoria Academic Hospital. She is a surgeon. She is a hero because she saved my friend's life. He was on the verge of death due to smoking and use of other tobacco substances.

My friend, Baker Manobe from Uganda, was driving a truck on the highway from Johannesburg to Pretoria. While he was driving he stopped the truck because he was not feeling well. He asked his partner to drive but the partner did know how to drive. While talking, Baker collapsed and started bleeding. Blood was coming from his nose and mouth.

Surgeons in scrubs conducting operation

His partner called an ambulance. Within four minutes the ambulance arrived and Baker was rushed to Pretoria academic hospital in a terrible condition. He was attended by Dr. Rebecca, who quickly put an oxygen mask to his mouth because he was not breathing. They inserted IV lines since he had lost blood.

After one day, when he was feeling better, Baker was taken to X-ray to examine his chest. They wanted to find out why he could not breathe without an oxygen mask. Dr. Rebecca realized that Baker had a very big swelling around his lungs. He was told that he had to go for an operation. He signed on the application form.

The following day Baker was taken to surgery. He was given anesthetic drug but he was still conscious! That is, until Dr. Rebecca asked him what he used. He said that he smoked tobacco and marijuana. They brought a special anesthetic drug which induced a coma.

He was admitted to the operation room with other three men who also had the same problem, each under a different doctor. He spent three days in coma. Baker told me that he was the only one of the three who survived that day. One died during surgery and the other died afterwards.

How smoking affects your lungs

Dr. Rebecca told us that Baker had only about three hours from the time he fainted before he would have died. If he had been far away from the hospital, or other medical care, he would not have survived. She said to Baker that he must stop smoking and not take marijuana or any other tobacco substance. He was shown what they removed from his lungs. She also explained to him the bad effects of smoking and how a smoker’s body looks inside.

Dr. Rebecca is a hero because she saved the life of Baker.

The operation was successful and now Becker feels okay and fine. Baker said to me after the operation, "I am feeling healthier than I have ever been before. The life I have now, is like what I experienced before I started smoking. My chest is light and clear. I breathe normally. What a wonderful life I have been missing. Every day my chest was very heavy and I couldn’t run even half a kilometer. I will never smoke again in my life at all."