This is what I am now asking the DOCTORS dealing with my daughter’s case…
I never imagined that one day I would be writing a plea to try to save my child’s life.
When we arrived at the Cape Town hospital, Angel was so critically ill that doctors immediately rushed her straight into the resuscitation room. As a mother, watching your child disappear behind emergency doors surrounded by machines, alarms, and doctors is something I cannot properly describe.
They placed her on multiple machines and drips to stabilise her and prevent her from slipping into a coma. One of the doctors quickly agreed with my concerns that something didn’t make sense with the earlier diagnosis of meningitis. He explained that the results showed only very small traces, which should have prompted further investigation—specifically, a head CT scan, not a chest scan. Even the doctor treating her was confused as to why the earlier hospital had done a chest CT instead of looking at her brain. (That is a story for another time)
Within 20 minutes of the head CT scan, the devastating truth was discovered.
Angel had a brain tumour. An MRI was immediately ordered for a clearer picture, the Head of Neurology was called in, and additional blood tests were rushed through. Within 24 hours, my daughter had been examined by
around nine doctors from neurology and endocrinology and was admitted to High Care (ICU).
The tumour’s location explained why Angel had begun losing her eyesight.
The tumour had permanently damaged Angel’s pituitary gland, the master gland that controls many vital hormones in the body. As a result, she has now lost the function of her adrenal glands, has suffered kidney damage, and has developed Diabetes Insipidus, a rare and dangerous condition that affects the body’s ability to regulate fluids.
My daughter, who should be living her life at 22 years old, has been told she will never be able to have children, will require medication for the rest of her life and will die without it!
Her day is now ruled by medication schedules — 6 am, 8 am, 1 pm, 4 pm and 6 pm — every single day just to keep her body functioning.
Doctors have warned us that if Angel becomes ill and cannot keep her medication down, we must rush her to the emergency room immediately because her body cannot survive without these medications. She would need life-saving medication through IV and must wear a medical alert bracelet at all times.
Despite everything she has already endured, Angel’s battle is far from over.
In March 2024, she was rushed back to the emergency room after severe head pain, vomiting, and worsening eyesight. New scans revealed that the tumour had grown and a cyst had formed on it. Since then, we have made multiple emergency visits and countless specialist appointments.
Yet we have been told something no parent should ever hear:
They will only operate once she loses her eyesight again, or it grows.
Until then, she must live with constant pain, worsening vision, swelling that causes severe discomfort, pressure in her head that blocks her ears and affects her balance, and chronic exhaustion because the pressure makes it almost impossible for her to sleep.
Most nights, she cannot sleep until 3 am, only to wake again a few hours later due to the pain and pressure in her head. Everyone knows how dangerous sleep deprivation is for a healthy person. Now imagine enduring that while living with a growing brain tumour.
Two highly respected neurosurgeons we consulted privately were shocked and deeply concerned that the hospital is choosing to wait instead of operating. They believe Angel’s condition — especially with the tumour growth and cyst formation — should already be treated urgently.
Angel’s Condition Has Continued to Worsen!
Angel’s journey has been filled with repeated medical emergencies.
• 6 September: Angel was rushed to the ER again and immediately taken to the resuscitation room. Doctors had to attempt emergency access through the carotid artery in her neck, and when that failed, they had to access the femoral artery in her groin to place life-saving tubes to administer medication and fluids to prevent organ shutdown. She was admitted to the ICU.
• 13 September: Angel was discharged after a week in hospital with additional medications and instructions to wait months for the next appointment.
• 30 October: Angel was diagnosed with Addison’s Crisis, a life-threatening condition caused by the body’s inability to produce cortisol.
• December: Angel was diagnosed with Panhypopituitarism, meaning her pituitary gland is no longer producing the essential hormones the body needs to function.
• February 2026: We received devastating news. The tumour has grown bigger again.
• March 2026: We were told that due to the tumour growing, it has caused permanent damage to the outer vision in both eyes, and she is at risk for cushion disease.
Despite everything—the tumour growth, the cyst, the vision damage, the brain bleed, and repeated resuscitations—the hospital still refuses to operate. To make matters worse, they also gave us the wrong prescription for medication when we left on March 5, 2026.
They are waiting until Angel either loses her eyesight completely or deteriorates further in the hopes they will be able to bring her back from death, actually, to operate. (And yes, this is what we were told by the DRs at the Cape Town hospital)
As her mother, I cannot sit and wait for that to happen. If that wasn’t enough, this also happened in the hospital care, and to date have not heard back from anyone regarding it.
Another Traumatic Incident While in Hospital Care:
As if Angel’s medical battle was not already difficult enough, she was subjected to a deeply traumatic incident while admitted to the hospital.
On 2 September 2025, while Angel was in hospital for treatment related to her brain tumour and the complications it had caused, she went to use the bathroom located next to the nurses’ station. Two nurses were seated at the station at the time, while Angel entered the bathroom.
While she was inside and in a vulnerable state, a male patient entered the bathroom area, looked directly at her while she was exposed, and then proceeded to the shower area, where he exposed himself and behaved disturbingly and inappropriately.
Terrified and humiliated, Angel left the bathroom as quickly as she could and immediately reported the incident to the nurses at the station, who were busy having a chat and on their phones.
Due to the effects of her brain tumour and the damage it has caused, stressful situations are extremely dangerous for Angel, and she cannot react or move as quickly as a healthy person might. When I was informed of what had happened, I rushed to the hospital. Shockingly, security staff had not even been informed about the incident.
I was assisted by a patient liaison officer who helped me get to Angel, who was extremely distressed and shaken. When I questioned staff about what had happened, I was told that the hospital was short-staffed and that the male patient involved “was not in his right mind.”
This response only raised further concerns.
If staff were aware that the patient was mentally unstable, why was he not being properly monitored or placed in a more appropriate ward? Why were there no safeguards in place to prevent a situation like this from happening in the first place?
Angel had already been admitted due to a serious neurological condition, and the extreme stress caused by this incident made her condition even more concerning. After speaking with her doctor, and given the emotional distress she was under, along with the hospital’s MRI machine being out of order and the lack of available beds, it was agreed that it would be safer for Angel to return home temporarily and return the following day for her scheduled
X-ray.
As her mother, it is heartbreaking to know that while Angel is fighting for her life against a growing brain tumour, she is also being exposed to situations that place her safety, dignity, and mental well-being at risk.
My Plea!
Angel is only 24 years old. She deserves a chance to live without constant pain, without the fear of losing her sight, and without waiting for the worst to happen before doctors intervene.
I am asking for help so we can raise the funds needed for private neurosurgery and treatment that could change the course of her life.
Every share, every donation, and every voice that helps raise awareness could bring us closer to giving Angel the chance she deserves.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for taking the time to read Angel’s story and for standing with us in this fight.
A GoFundMe page is set up for donations to help us see a private team to remove the tumour –
— A desperate mom fighting to save her daughter