Sphamandla Boyce spent 2017 in and out of hospital suffering from multiple seizures, headaches, had two strokes and was diagnosed with a rare neuro autoimmune disorder called Behcet’s disease, which causes swelling of the blood vessels.
Despite his challenges, including being financial excluded for owing about R190,000 for his studies, 23-year-old Boyce graduated with a BCom Law at the University of Fort Hare (UFH) on Tuesday.
“I am truly grateful for the support I got from my family and my professor. My journey was not easy. I was 16 when I enrolled with UFH in 2016 for a BCom Law degree with plans to complete my degree at the age of 20 and continue with LLB for two years. However, early in 2017, I woke up with an excruciating headache. I was at home in Libode, Eastern Cape, and was preparing to go back to school for registration,” Boyce said.
He said his father rushed him to St Mary’s Hospital in Mthatha and he was admitted.
“The first two days were better, on the third day I had a seizure and the doctor suggested they perform a brain scan. It was discovered that there was a swelling around my brain but the doctor was not sure what caused it. I left the hospital with loads of medication,” Boyce said.
He said he forced his way back to university but his situation got worse and he had to deregister, losing his financial aid funding.
“I was suffering from seizure and headaches. In July that year I had my first stroke. In December I went to see a specialist in Durban who said I should come back in January. I was admitted for two months with no diagnosis and I was given medication, they were just treating the symptoms. I went back to school and managed to apply for late registration. When mid-year exams approached I had a relapse and was taken to a hospital in East London where I was transferred to Durban,” he said.
He said after plenty of tests the doctors performed a brain biopsy and he was sent to the intensive care unit for three days.
“When I was back in the wards I got a visit from a professor from Albert Luthuli Hospital. He did some tests and that's when I was told I had Behcet’s disease.”
He was discharged around July and went back to varsity. He said he passed his second semester and in 2019 he carried some of the modules from 2018.
“I applied myself to the point that I received an award for academic excellence. In 2020 I was financially excluded as I owed the institution over R190,000 and I couldn’t register. It was around October when I got a sponsor who paid my outstanding debt. That very same year I lost my mother,” he said.
Boyce said with everything that he went through giving up was not an option.
“I did not want to let my parents down as they had sacrificed a lot to give us a better life. I also wanted to motivate the youth in my neighbourhood who seem to have given up in life and are into drugs. I wanted to show them that there is still hope,” he said.
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