Medical help for singer to fill deep scars left by accident

GEORGE NEWS - A motor accident on 1 November 2020 near the Kleinkrantz off-ramp left Veronique Ferndale (37), fondly known as Nicky, with a massive hole in her right upper arm, as well as terrible scarring.

For someone who loves to sing and appear on stage, this has been an emotional hurdle for the last couple of years.

Nicky is a nutritional coordinator for soup kitchens at George Municipality. Her career and general outlook on life revolves around caring for others.

A call to the Dr Ansua Foundation, known for their support to patients with medical anomalies who need financial assistance for difficult procedures, made all the difference in her life, because for a change, she is the one receiving some tender loving care.

"When I got the call that they will help me in January this year, I was speechless," said Nicky. "My family has been through so much. It's been very difficult to come to terms with my appearance."

She retold the story that changed the Ferndales' lives.

"We had a really bad accident when a driver of a bakkie, coming from George, wanted to turn off to Kleinkranz. We were coming back from a family holiday in Port Elizabeth and were driving towards George, when the bakkie hit us from the side. My husband and I were very badly hurt. It was the most painful day of my life and we spent many days in hospital. The kids were thankfully okay."

According to Nicky the driver of the bakkie was unharmed after the accident. "I had an operation on my arm with a skin graft to cover the hole. I was in so much pain. I was home for six months to recover after the incident."

Nicky Ferndale was left with a massive hole in her upper right arm after a motor accident three years ago.

Light in the tunnel

"Dr Ansua Steyn, through her foundation, is the first person to give me hope," said Nicky. "I saw the story of a little girl that she helped on television, and decided to make contact with Dr Ansua and ask for help. We would not have been able to afford medical procedures ourselves, because the medical aid deemed the operation to fill the hole as cosmetic. The thing is, the emotional scarring is something you don't account for.

"Looking at my arm now, after the initial procedure earlier in January of filling the hole with fat tissue from my tummy, and microneedling around the scar tissue that formed where the glass hit my arm, I can already see a big difference."

Through the Dr Ansua Steyn Foundation, the hole in Nicky's arm could be filled with fat tissue, and microneedling will help to reduce the effect of the scar tissue.

The medical procedures were done at the Dr Ansua Steyn Foundation's practice at Donegal Wine Estate in Victoria Bay.

Nicky will get her next treatment of microneedling on 21 February, and another filling session in April. The microneedling sessions are being sponsored by MC Aesthetics.

The medical procedure was done at Dr Ansua's medical practice at Donegal Wine Estate in Victoria Bay. Dr Ansua (left) stands by while Carla van Niekerk of MC Aesthetics performs a microneedling procedure.