Man saves wife after suicide bid

AFTER 17 years of marriage and giving birth to six children, a woman, 39, is battling for her life at Victoria Falls Hospital's intensive care unit following a suicide attempt that shocked her children who regarded their parents as the perfect couple.

Siphathisiwe Ndlovu, of Chidobe area under Chief Mvuthu, who tried to kill herself by taking an overdose of pills and gulping fertiliser, has been on life support since Tuesday.

Her husband came to her rescue and called an ambulance at around midnight leaving Ndlovu hospitalised.

Phelandaba Dube said he was still in shock as he did not know what could have possibly led his wife to want to take her own life.  With no immediate answer, Dube's mind is now stretching to over a decade ago when he had a child out of wedlock and wonder if the old wound was the cause of her suicide attempt.

"We had supper and I was sleeping outside when she left our last born child with me. She fainted and when I asked her what was wrong she told me she was fine. I helped her up and went back to where I was sleeping but I couldn't sleep by then because I sensed something was wrong," said Dube.

"She fainted again and this time she scared me because she told me to keep the children safe. I called an ambulance because she was not breathing at all."

He said they were fortunate that the ambulance arrived early and Ndlovu was immediately attended to by doctors in hospital.

"We have been married for 17 years and of all those years I don't remember being aggressive towards my wife. We have been helping each other since we are both self-employed and I don't recall insulting her because I respect her and of all those years we have never laid hands on each other," Dube said.

He said he thinks the reason for his wife's suicide attempt was because of another child he has in Harare.

"We haven't talked about what happened because she still has to fully recover," he said, "but I think it might be because of an old wound. I used to work in Harare and when I left, I had another child who is doing Grade Six. I think that is one grudge she has been holding and could be the reason for her drinking fertilizer".

He said on the day she attempted to kill herself, they had spent time working together and he had not suspected that something could be amiss.

"I do piece jobs together with my wife and on Tuesday morning we had gone to mould bricks and came home to prepare food for our last born who is five-years-old. We helped each other and the issue came when she collapsed later during the day," said Dube.

Ndlovu's eldest child Phathi Dube said she was still in shock because she could not understand what could have driven her mother to such an action.

He said he knew his parents as a perfect couple and her mother was a quiet person.

"I know her as a quiet person who does not bother people about anything and she and my father are like the perfect couple I have ever known. I didn't think my mother would try to take her life in such a manner without talking about what was eating her, I just hope she will fully recover and be able to talk about what's bothering her to someone," Phathi said.