MALAVUWE - Mrs Grace Nelukalu (53) is not pregnant, but her stomach is growing. This gives her sleepless nights.

Mrs Nelukalu of Gondeni, Sterkstroom, in the Malavuwe area has been suffering from an unknown illness since 2001. She told Mirror that she was terribly ill in 2001 and after that her stomach started to grow gradually. She consulted the nearby clinic at Tshififi and was later transferred to Tshilidzini and Elim hospitals for treatment.

“Before doctors started to examine me, they thought I was pregnant, but the sonar results shows there is nothing in my tummy.” She added that doctors at the Elim Hospital told her that there was water in her stomach and that it was very stiff. “Since they drained the water, I feel no pain, but it is still growing,” she said.

She added that she is at present staying in an RDP house that was built after the floods of 2000 destroyed her house.

“I never involved myself in alcohol or drug abuse in my life and I have seven children, Lawrence (31), Mpandeli (27), Sharperd (24), Khuthadzo (19), Omphulusa (17), Thakhani (14) and Muimeleli (9). Law-rence and Mpandeli are working at the Kruger National Park and they are the source of food at home, as their mother is unemployed and ill. The third-born, Sharperd, passed grade 12 in 2004 and, because of financial constraints, he is just lingering at home.

Some traditional healers around the former Venda homeland said they can help her, but Grace is expecting the MEC for Health and Social Development to help her by finding special doctors who can help her.