Gerhard Greyling’s condition came to the public's attention when his 42-year-old father, Willie Greyling, made an impassioned plea on social media, calling on South Africans to vaccinate against the coronavirus. At the time, Willie had just lost his father to the virus, which had complicated into a Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS), which attacks organs. His 11-year-old son who is believed to have contracted Covid-19 whilst visiting his grandfather, was now fighting a similar battle. 

Willie tells OFM News that for six weeks, Gerhard’s movement was very limited, allowing him to walk to the bathroom only. This was because all his body parts were at a high risk of becoming inflamed – including his heart. At that stage, the disease had affected his intestines and lungs. He reiterates his plea for vaccination.  “I lost my father three weeks before Gerhard got sick, also because of Covid-19 complications. So I feel if we have an opportunity to do anything to keep our family and our children safe then we should do so. Get vaccinated and make sure something like this doesn’t happen again,” says the Bloemfontein father.

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Willie’s sons were visiting his father when the deceased suspected he contracted Covid-19. The boys did not show any signs or symptoms and returned home, and later to school. It was at school that Gerhard fell ill. According to the family, initial Covid-19 test results were negative, but Gerhard only got worse. The doctor noticed that his lymph vessels around his intestines were severely inflamed. A second Covid-19 test was done, but it was again negative. It was an antibody test that eventually came back positive and according to calculations, when his grandfather was diagnosed, he was also Covid-positive but did not show any symptoms.

OFM News