Born with 3 holes in her heart, a missing tricuspid valve, an irregular & fast heartbeat, narrowed arteries between the heart and lungs and Pulmonary Hypertension; Tina B’s chance of survival was minimal. As a child she would get tired and out of breath very quickly, especially when trying to join in with physical activity. From age 12, she had to sit out on physical activity all together.
At the age of 14 Tina B suffered heart failure and collapsed. She was rushed to Hospital and resuscitated. The heart had been working so hard and grown so large that the cells that carry the electric impulses to make the heart beat had stretched too much to be able to carry an impulse. She was fitted with a pacemaker to ensure that if the natural impulse didn’t happen, a mechanical one would. It took Tina B a long time to recover from the operation and she spent the majority of her Std 7 / Grade 9 year at home.
By the end of Std 8 / Grade 10, Tina B was starting to struggle to get around her large high school, with its multiple stories and buildings. Her parents decided it would be best if she was home schooled. She matriculated in 1999 with the IEB.
As many South African matriculates do, Tina B decided to get some life experience before making the huge decision of what to study and went to England. Unfortunately the cold weather and the pollution of London did her no favours. So she headed back home.