Theoné Snyman in hospital this week.

A ten-year-old girl from Brits was seriously injured in a freak accident shortly after leaving her father’s funeral last week.
Theoné Snyman and her mother, Delora, were travelling on the R511 on their way home to Brits, when the trailer came off an oncoming vehicle and hit their car. Theoné sustained serious brain injuries and both her legs were broken in two places. Delora sustained a shoulder injury.
Both were transported to Sunrise Private Hospital in Benoni. Doctors performed brain surgery to relieve the pressure on her brain, as well as surgery on her legs to repair the fractures with pins and plates.
According to her uncle and father’s twin, Alex Snyman, Theoné’s father, Theo (50) suffered from depression and committed suicide on 24 December and the family was still reeling from the loss. “Theoné, who was named after Theo, was extremely close to her dad and was inconsolable at the funeral. She was crying uncontrollably and we had to give her a tablet to calm her down at one stage,” he said. “And then one tragedy followed another…”
Snyman said Theoné is currently out of danger and doctors are positive that she has not sustained lasting brain damage. “She recalls the accident clearly.”
“Theoné, her mother and two brothers (aged 16 and 20) are having a difficult time processing Theo’s death. Theoné and Delora are receiving counselling at the hospital. Theoné has a long road ahead of her. She will have to learn to walk again. She will be in the hospital for at least another month,” he said.
Theoné will be a Grade 5 learner at Brits Primary School this year.