S OWETO train-crash victim Samuel Shange has spent his 60th birthday in hospital with serious head injuries. To spoil him yesterday, his family brought him his favourite drink – rooibos tea.
His wife Lindeni left the couple’s shack in Snake Park near Dobsonville carrying a flask of tea.
She was making yet another visit to Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital – something that has become a daily ritual.
Lindeni recognises that the visit was “probably one of many more to come”.
Almost two weeks after the train crash that injured 857 people, she said her husband had come out of a coma a week ago.
Lindeni has been told that Samuel had sustained serious head injuries, and doctors had to drain blood clots from his head.
A day after the train accident, she found him in hospital, where he had been designated an unknown patient.
“He was one of the two unidentified patients from the train crash. After checking the first patient, nurses told me that the other one was the worst injured.
“When I found him he was strapped to machines, on a gas mask, eyes closed and not moving,” she said.
“I tried talking to him, but he was not responding. He finally opened his eyes slightly on Sunday and tried moving a hand and nod his head as I spoke to him.”
Lindeni said Samuel was “showing some improvement in that he was able to mumble some words this week, although he did not make much sense and complained about being tired”.
“He asked for tea, which is his favourite. There’s nothing we could do for him on his birthday, but the nurses agreed that we could bring him tea from home,” she said.
Faced with having to feed eight dependants, including four school-going grandchildren, Lindeni said she was worried that her husband might not have his job waiting for him when he left hospital.
“He works at a shopfitting factory in Cleveland and his boss has been generous in that he paid his earnings last week, but I’m worried that with his injuries, Samuel might stay longer in hospital.
“He is a breadwinner, and if his medical condition prevents him from working, then we’re faced with a serious problem,” she said.
“Metrorail has already given us R500 and asked me to call for any need, but I can’t do that. I feel they must come and check on our needs if they really want to help.”
Lindeni said she had not been to Metrorail’s offices to claim Samuel’s R10 000 of the R20 million offered to the victims.
“My husband is the one who was injured, and he will decide on that. But personally I feel R10 000 is way too little. That is almost what Samuel would have earned in two months at work,” she said.
“There is a lot at stake here and we’re all worried. If he can’t work anymore, then R10 000 won’t see our grandchildren through school or feed us.”
Lindeni also criticised Metrorail for “trusting youngsters with people’s lives”.
“They told me that anyone from the age of 18 who qualifies can drive a train. These youngsters are into drugs and alcohol. How do they put thousands of lives in their hands?” she said.
“I think this driver should have been arrested and charged criminally instead of just firing him.”
Lindeni said it was not the same at home without Samuel.
“He is loved by the community, who call him Mkhulu (Grandfather). He is naturally sweet, and loves his family and his tea very much,” she said.
Meanwhile, Metrorail’s owner the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) said it was winding up the process for the application for payouts offered to the Soweto crash victims as well as to victims of a train crash in Pretoria. Prasa spokeswoman Nana Zenani said over 100 victims were processed on the first day last Thursday. - POLOKO TAU