Akeso Nelspruit

On 18th May 2022 my wife was admitted to a ward with four other patients. Their behaviour was so bad that I removed her from the hospital the next morning to save her further trauma.

To add to the problem, the fees charged by Dr De Witt were outrageously expensive. Her subsequent communication is also non-existent.

In all, a disastrous visit to Akeso Hospital.

My Akeso journey.

To be surrounded by like minded individuals all seeking purpose passion and understanding.  People living with pain , insomnia,  anxiety and or depression. What an absolute honor meeting you. You made me feel normal, capable and loved.

My insecurities regarding parenthood, not being a hard worker a good wife nor a good Christian made me feel unbalanced,  living a fake life. Always trying to uplift and inspire others but never following my own advise , made me feel like I am always a contradiction. This added to my guilt and this is where Satan had the upper hand on my emotions.

I have the most amazing family who truly loves me, but I have always felt that I am failing them by being too emotional or sensitive. No one spoke their truth always afraid of offending me, adding to the anxiety I never knew I had.

Akeso was like servicing my car. You know it has to be done but we ignore the signs.

The staff, psychologist,  psychiatrist,  occupational therapists and nurses has made this journey extra special. They truly want to make a huge difference and they definitely do. The sessions on life skills communication, conflict management , setting boundaries etc has impacted me and taught me so much.

If this is one gift you can give yourself, take the time and do it now!

I have hope, appreciation and so much more guts. I will be returning every year even if just for a week.

I have made many mistakes in my past, but of everything I have ever done for myself and my family…this was the best .

I have so many great memories and made friends for life.

Thanks again.

Michele Booyens Retief

May you benefit from my growth, but also consider attending too. Every single person are dealing with something, and no one needs to feel alone.

May God guide you where you go.

So much love.

Michele

Very grateful to have the wonderful assistance of Dr De Witt and Hein the psychologist, they were excellent, caring and insightful. Maggie the manager is also very friendly and responsive to patients’ needs.

Most of the nursing staff are friendly but some are inadequately trained and unfortunately gave me the wrong meds on numerous occasions. Luckily I was able to correct them on their mistakes but many other patients are not be able to do so and will take the wrong stuff. This is a VERY serious error that needs to be corrected.

There were also big issues with the keys to the cupboards. Many of them are missing, meaning that many patients simply have to leave their belongings unprotected hoping they won’t be stolen. There were a few incidents of theft during my stay.

There needs to be a review of the meals offered too. Every single day was either white rice or pap. Luckily there were decent veggies and meat to go with it, but some weekly variety would be great.

The therapists who present the group sessions are fantastic and you learn a lot. Thanks to them and the mental health professionals, I left Akeso on a much better path than when I arrived.

The nurses were so kind the staff was more than WELCOMING sooo yeah I loved it