Assistance for my sister’s partner

My older sister, my legal guardian, the most responsible and bravest 24 year old I know. Last year November her partner was shot multiple times💔, a month after signing his employment contract. After years of endlessly struggling to get employment, when he finally got his dream job, he is gunned, unarmed, unaware and unprotected.

It was a Monday afternoon, Mid November, when I came back from school to find my sister at home crying. She informed me of what had happened, and that she had to drive to PMB (from Gauteng) to go to the hospital.

As a traffic officer, her partner was patrolling the area he was working in, and had stopped a speeding vehicle. Little did he know that these guys were thugs and had just robbed a store. He hadn’t even gotten out of the car or spoken to anyone. 10 rounds fired at him, about 4 bullets into his body, he was left for dead on the road bleeding. For what, why? All because he was doing his job😭💔

Fast forward to a few months later 2021. My sister is currently staying with her partner who is now paralysed from waist down. From what I read, he has a complete T10/11 spine injury and cannot feel nor move his lower body. Dispite all this, my sister loved and still loves him. She takes care of him single handedly day in day out.

It is never easy though. I sometimes look at her face and see eyes full of pain, tears and desparetely longing for help. I understand and feel her pain, it’s like she’s carrying the world on her shoulders.

It all feels like a dream. At 24, she has taken the full responsibility for her partner and has never ever complained. She helps him bath, dress, drives him to physio, hospital and cleans him amongst other things. I’d sometimes see her changing and washing the bedding at least 3 to 4 times a day. Why? Well accidents do happen every now and then especially if you can’t move or feel your lower body.

I see my sister everyday juggling all these things and also persuing her career. The past few months have been very stressful for her to a point where she couldn’t do her work properly.

Some people ask her why she is doing all this? where is her partner’s family? why is she risking her career for him? All she says is “I love him and promised to be by his side no matter the situation, he did not ask to be shot or paralysed, I am his hope, I am his strength, I know that if he had to go and stay in rural KZN (home) his life will prove to be more difficult and he will give up, and I really do not want that to happen”. So she soldiers on.....❤️

How I wish I could find help for both of them. As her partner was injured on duty, his employer informed him that he will no longer be paid by them, the Dept. of labour will take over and pay him only 75% of what he was earning. When my sister told me this, I could see how stressed and in pain she was. Her partner’s needs had increased significantly, but his salary will be decreasing, how stressful can this get💔.

Nonetheless, she tries to make ends meet.

I always hear my sister’s partner wishing for all the pain he is in to go away, even if it’s just for a day. He wishes he could someday go back to working as a traffic officer, doing what he is so passionate about. Right now though that all looks like a far away dream, which my sister is trying to make a reality. She has done lots of research on possible spine injury treatment options. This too though is proving to be difficult because she doesn’t have a knowledgeable doctor who can advice her. But the most challenging part of all this is the fact that even if there is something out there that could help her partner, they can’t afford it 😔😞😢.