After a near-drowning experience at the age of two and doctors telling the family to prepare for the worst, this little boy has beaten all the odds against him and is thriving.
Abdul Hakim Madumbo has started school and is excelling, and is even getting ready to appear in his first school concert.
In 2018, Abdul Hakim fell into the pool at their home in Parow and was left in a vegetative state with partial brain damage. Doctors said that he had no chance of survival.
However, in just a month he will be celebrating his eighth birthday.
Mom, Tasneem Swartz, 36, says he attends the Alta Du Toit School for children with special needs in Kraaifontein, and is still wheelchair bound but is excited for his first concert, which is in celebration of the school’s 60th birthday.
A proud Tasneem says: “He is in foundation phase and it is a rollercoaster of emotions.
“When the incident happened, Abdul Hakim was not responsive and literally a vegetable.
“Doctors told us to ‘give it time’ [to pass away], but we knew God had bigger and better plans for him.”
“Everyday I cry tears of gratitude and I am constantly inspired when I look at him because we can predict, but God always has a plan.
“When I look at the scars on his body, it reminds me of what he has been through, but he is not on any medication and can vocalise his emotions and communicate on demand.
“Everything the doctors said was impossible, God made it possible through him.”
Adbul Hakim’s foundation-phase class teacher, Phillipa Caesar, described him as her butterfly and calls him “Kimmy”.
She says: “He is doing very well and is my little champ in the class.
“He interacts very well with his classmates and we are opening the school concert with a cute dance.
“Kimmy has made a lot of progress and is able to communicate. He made a lot of friends and adjusted very well.”
Tasneem encourages parents who have children with disabilities to never give up.
She adds: “Don’t let a disability stop you from an ability.
“There is room for growth and as parents we don’t have to isolate our children or ourselves.
There is so much out there, we just need to educate ourselves around special needs.”