Former Generations actress Sophie Ndaba-Lichaba was admitted to Morningside Clinic after falling sick at her Joburg house on Wednesday.
Her admission comes after she suffered multiplies strokes and was involved in a car accident when she collapsed behind the steering wheel while driving to Welkom from Joburg early this year.
News that Ndaba-Lichaba was not well was leaked to Sunday World by a family member, who asked South Africans and her legion of fans to seek divine intervention for her to recuperate. The relative, who did not want to be named, said Ndaba-Lichaba checked in at the clinic after suffering from severe depression and a high sugar level.
The relative also said that after being admitted, Ndaba-Lichaba had undergone a battery of tests, including one for COVID-19, to establish if there were other causes for her ailment.
“Her COVID-19 test results came back negative but the doctors discovered that she had depression that shot her sugar level up. But she is recovering and could be discharged from the clinic anytime,” said the relative.
The talented thespian, who is married to businessman Max Lichaba, confirmed that she was hospitalised after feeling ill at her Featherbrook Estate house on Wednesday.
The Family Secrets actress also confirmed that her sugar level went up because of a bout of depression she suffered days before falling sick.
“You know that I’m diabetic right, so when you are depressed, your sugar level will definitely go up. So when they checked me they discovered that because my sugar level was up, my body was burning a lot of fat. So basically the fat that I take, my body will burn it quickly and that resulted in me losing a lot of weight,” she said.
The renowned wedding planner also said as a result of the excessive weight loss, her body became sore. She said her last battle with diabetes and depression was earlier this year when she almost lost her life.
She said she passed out in a car while driving to Welkom in the Free State from Joburg at the beginning of lockdown, and as a result she lost control of her vehicle and was involved in a road accident.
“I was just driving into Welkom, just from the set of robots into Welkom, I passed out because my sugar level went up as a result of stress and I lost control of my car,” she said.
She also said she had suffered a stroke several times afterwards because of her chronic condition. “Fortunately, I know how to treat strokes, the physicians showed me the things to drink when you have a stroke,” she said.
Asked what depressed her, Ndaba- Lichaba said her personal life challenges contributed to her depression and worsened her sugar diabetes.
“As I’m dealing with this devil called sugar diabetes and at the same time I still need to deal with ordinary challenges that any other human being deals with on daily basis, so it becomes too much for me.”
Ndaba-Lichaba added that she has decided, on the advice of her doctors, to stay out of the public eye for three months.
She also confirmed that she was tested for COVID-19 and the results came back negative.
“I’m clear of it,” she said.
