VIRNA VAN DER WALT—A HEROINE. There were obviously many heroes in the rescue of Martin Pistorius. According to the wikipedia entry, his father Rodney for years woke up every two hours to turn his son so that he would not receive bed sores.
I am particularly moved by what Virna Van Der Walt did. As far as the world knew, her patient had been comatose for nine years. And yet she was still paying close enough attention to him to recognize his efforts to communicate. We benefit every day from conscientious people. It’s nice to think of such conscientiousness being repaid.