Dwayne's matric miracle

DWAYNE  Jansen’s mother could not bring herself to tell her son that a psychologist did not believe he had any chance of passing his matric exams.

For a teenager who had miraculously survived a horrific accident – after being given a 5% chance of doing so – in which he was given just a 5%five percent chance of survival, the pressure would have been too great.

But this week another miracle took place, when Dwayne pulled off a second miracle and passed his exams, his mom Cheryl could not stop beaming and grinning.

Not even brain injury or having part of his scull removed could stop Dwayne Jansen,18, from passing his final matric exams.

The Despatch teen, dubbed a “miracle patient” by hospital nursing staff, was given a five percent chance of survival, but pulled through against all odds after suffering massive injuries to his head injuries in a scooter motorbike accident just two days before he was to start starting his matric year in 2013.

A year later he was able to write his exams despite being in and out of a coma, suffering memory loss and living with part of his skull missing

According to Dwayne’s mother, Cheryl Jansen, who is beaming with pride, the pass came as a very pleasant surprise.“The psychologist who evaluated Dwayne prior to his third-term exams gave us little hope of him passing due to his brain injury.” she said.

She kept this disturbing news from her son, who was keen to do his best in the exams.

The concerned mother decided to keep the psychologist’s diagnosis from Dwayne because she did not want to put to not any extra strain on him. and unknowingly he proved experts wrong by passing. “I had to study very hard, but even so I couldn't retain a lot of the information,” Dwayne said.

“I’d study and have my girlfriend quiz me a few minutes later then remember nothing – it feels like I wrote on general knowledge,” said Dwayne, who prior to the accident  had passed his exams almost entirely after doing very with very little revision – by purely listening in class.

Before, Dwayne ever forgot about a test, he would revise quickly.

“ It was difficult to see him struggle like this,” said his father, Erns.

- Eleanor Douglas-Meyers