Wiekie needs your help

Hi, my name is Chrisna van Zyl and I am raising funds and need your support in a deeply personal and urgent matter that has significantly impacted my sister Wiekie Humpel, her daughter and our whole family's lives.

Wiekie went for Gastricbypass surgery in November 2024. After a successful surgery and almost back to work, Wiekie had a relapse and was admitted to hospital in ICU with an infection as high as 400 and a very critical case of pneumonia. She was put under sedation and indused coma so that her body could recover and heal. After 3 weeks, Wiekie went home, healthy.

Since then she struggled to eat and keep her food down. Nausea and pain became her life. She couldn't eat properly for months which affected her ability to move around and to focus long enough to do her work. She is an accountant.

Wiekie went for a hernia repair on the 1st of May 2025 and while she was recovering at home, 2 days later she collapsed again. She got admitted into ICU with an emergency operation doe septic shock with her infection count over 550. She was put under sedation and indused coma with a feeding tube again.

After 4 weeks in hospital her medical aid only authorised 1 week in a stepdown centre. Wiekie can not walk by herself, has a 10cmx6cm open wound on her diaphragm as well as an open wound on her calf bigger than a tennis ball due to an infection they had to cut out. This means a wound sister has to clean the open wounds everyday until it has healed and closed. She will need a skin graft later to properly close the wound. Which will add to her financial stress and burden. She needs to leave the stepdown by Monday and the medical aid does not want to authorise another week for her to get her strength back and be able to walk and care for herself. She is only allowed to be taken home by an ambulance, but the medical aid does not want to pay for it.

All of this requires intensive medical treatment, ongoing rehabilitation, and constant care. While we have been doing everything we can to stay hopeful and fight through this challenge, the financial burden has become overwhelming.

The costs involved in this journey include:

Medical treatments and procedures not fully covered by insurance.

Regular doctor and wound sister visits.

Physical and occupational therapy for rehabilitation.

Psychology sessions for PTSD

Medications and medical equipment.

Transportation to and from treatment centers.

Daily living support and home care.

Despite all efforts to manage these costs, they continue to grow beyond her and our means. This is why I have started this fundraiser—to help bridge the gap and ensure she can receive the necessary care to recover and regain independence.

Your support—whether it be a donation, sharing the fundraiser, or simply words of encouragement—would mean the world to us. Every contribution, no matter how small, helps lighten the burden and brings her one step closer to healing.

I am truly grateful for your compassion and generosity during this difficult time. With your help, I believe she can face this challenge with strength and hope.

Thank you for taking the time to read her story and consider supporting her journey toward recovery.

With heartfelt gratitude,

Chrisna van Zyl