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The inspiring story of Pippie Kruger: A resilient burn survivor celebrating her 16th birthday
Pippie Kruger, who suffered 80% burn wounds in 2011 when ignition gel exploded during a family braai, celebrated her 16th birthday last week.
Image: Supplied
In 2011, a family braai turned into a nightmare for the Kruger family when their daughter Pippie, then two, sustained 80% burns when a fire starter gel exploded on New Year's Eve.
But this survivor celebrated her 16th birthday last week, and besides all the hardships she had to endure, she is a happy teenager.
Her mother, Anice Kruger, described Pippie as the love of her life, and although she cannot walk or go to school, the mother said she will never describe her child as being handicapped.
'To me, she is just perfect as she is,' she said.
The freak fire had devoured almost all of her skin, and after 77 operations over the years, her family decided enough was enough.
The family lived on a farm in Lephalale, Limpopo, at the time, and it was a 400km ambulance ride to Netcare's Garden City Hospital. Doctors at the time did not hold much hope for her recovery.
But Pippie proved to be a fighter, and more than five months after the accident, which left her with burns on her chest, arms, face, thighs, head, and parts of her back, the then-toddler crossed the frontier of cutting-edge medicine by becoming the first South African to have plastic-like sheets of her skin, grown for her in a US lab in Boston, delicately grafted onto her wounded body.
Over the years, she underwent various skin grafts and other operations. The shock of the burns on her body resulted in her having several heart attacks, which led to strokes and the collapse of her lungs. She also developed cerebral palsy due to a lack of oxygen to her brain.
The then-little girl who touched the hearts of many following her accident, which made headlines at the time, is now a happy teenager, her mother said following her 16th birthday celebration.
'She lives 100% fully for each day. She wakes up with a smile, and she goes to bed with a smile. She does her own thing, and she is simply the most wonderful young lady. Pippie never cries, and she is never upset,' Kruger said.
Pippie can, however, be very 'cheeky', but considering she is a teenager, this is normal, her mother said.
According to Kruger, she does not think Pippie remembers very well what happened to her.
'There was a time when she went through very bad trauma, and for months she could not sleep at night. That was a very difficult time in her life, but I think there was a level of acceptance on her part.'
She said this was around 2023 at the end of her last round of operations. 'Thereafter, we decided we are done with operations unless it is necessary. We just want to stop the trauma for her.'
Kruger added that she battles using the word handicapped in describing her daughter, although she had five strokes of which the doctors are aware, and her lungs, which collapsed twice.
'There was an oxygen deficiency to the brain, so Pippie cannot sit, nor can she stand. She can do nothing for herself, apart from playing and being happy. But we no longer see this as handicapped. We see her as 100% perfect.'
Kruger said she will always take care of her daughter.
'We are taking things day by day, and I do not think too far ahead. We are living each day full out. Tomorrow must take care of itself. I am not one of those mothers who had big dreams for her after the accident. As long as she is happy, I am happy,' she said.
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