SHE’LL never forget the first time she held her baby girl in her arms – a tiny human for her to love and nurture, no matter the challenges that lay ahead.
But another memory will stay with Sunera James for the rest of her life too: a haunting one of her daughter clinging to her as she took her last breath.
Sunera’s three-year-old daughter, Neyamiah Eaton, had WWOX syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes severe neurodevelopmental delays.
A few days before her death last month, she contracted a viral infection and needed an oxygen concentrator to help her breathe.
Sunera (37) and her husband, Curwyn Eaton (45), live in Bromhof in Joburg, which often had unscheduled and extended bouts of loadshedding.
On that fateful day in May, a blackout prevented Surena and Curwyn from charging their back-up power supply to run the concentrator and their back-up oxygen tank was almost empty.
They rushed their daughter to hospital, but it was too late.
The little girl isn’t the first and won’t be the last life to be lost due to the domino effect of loadshedding, but her name has become a heartbreaking reminder of the tragic impact of SA’s ongoing power crisis.
Here Sunera shares her heartrending story, and opens up about how she’s coping with her painful loss.
I DON’T know what to say to people who ask how I’m coping. It’s hard to describe what I’m feeling. It feels like torture. I imagine this is what hell must feel like because there’s no cure for my pain. It hurts so much.
Denne historien er fra 22 June 2023-utgaven av YOU South Africa.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra 22 June 2023-utgaven av YOU South Africa.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
PUSHED TO THE LIMIT
The unusual relationship between an heiress and her husband has taken a sinister twist
HOW TO MAKE A SUPERBABY
Noor Siddiqui says her company can test embryos for hundreds of conditions from diabetes to Alzheimer's. Critics call it social engineering but she insists she's just giving prospective parents the means to avoid a lot of future heartache
THE GROWN-UP BRAIN
If you think your brain deteriorates as you age, think again!
THE eyes HAVE IT
They're the windows to our soul - and the first place to show the stresses of everyday life. Juliette Winter reveals expert tips to de-puff, brighten and smooth this delicate area
WE'RE IN THIS TOGETHER
It hasn't been an easy road but now this bodybuilding couple are making waves in the industry
I CAN'T WAIT FOR SUMMER!
Annetjie's about to get effective treatment for the skin condition that has blighted her life and she's looking forward to hitting the shops and facing the world
'SHE NO THREAT TO ANYONE'
When SA boxer Chris van Heerden's Russian girlfriend went to visit her parents she was thrown in jail and accused of treasonnow he's in a fight to free her
SUNK IN 16 MINUTES!
A sun-drenched holiday turned into a living nightmare for those aboard this luxury vessel
READY TO SMILE AGAIN
A groundbreaking surgical procedure will restore this Limpopo teen's badly damaged jaw and teeth
HARRY AT A CROSSROADS
As the prince turns 40, royal experts paint a picture of a troubled soul- isolated, homesick and struggling to find a purpose in life