Dr Dewald van der Walt

28/01/2026

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫’𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐞

My father was an ENT surgeon.
He was also my hero.

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫.
𝐈𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭, 𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐦𝐞.

Before I joined MBBS, he called up every senior doctor he knew — his batchmates, his colleagues, his idols — and told them,
“Please talk to my son. Convince him not to take up medicine.”

𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐲,
“𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐧𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞.”

I thought he was exaggerating. I was young, idealistic, and believed that purpose was everything.
So I became a doctor.

Years later, I understood what he meant.
𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 — 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 — 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞.
We train for a decade before we earn a stable income. We miss weddings, festivals, even funerals.
We put in the kind of effort that breaks the human body — and then we walk into another 14-hour day because a patient needs us.

You give your youth to medicine.
And medicine, often, gives you fatigue in return.

My father used to say, “Being a good doctor is easy. Being a happy one is hard.”
Back then, I laughed. Now, I know he was right.

Because the world has changed.
The respect is fading.
The emotional and financial rewards don’t match the sacrifices.
Global portability? Non-existent. You can be a brilliant surgeon here and an anonymous immigrant abroad.
And every time a patient questions your intent, or an online troll questions your ethics, a small part of you breaks — quietly, privately, invisibly.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐈 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞 '𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐌𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐫𝐬'.
Because somewhere along the way, society forgot that doctors are human too.

I have seen what this profession takes.
And that’s why I have told everyone young in my family — 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫.

Not because I regret being one.
But because I know what it costs.

The world has easier ways to make a living now. Ways that let you breathe, travel, create, sleep.
Ways that let you live and heal, without losing yourself.

Medicine gave me meaning.
But it also took more than I ever imagined.

So if you are a doctor reading this — tell your children it’s okay not to follow in your footsteps.
Tell them it’s okay to dream beyond the stethoscope.

Because sometimes, love means not repeating the legacy.
It means protecting them from it.



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𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫s 𝐨𝐟 '𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐌𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐫𝐬' & 'Dear People, With Love And Care, Your Doctors'

These books are not just about medicine; they are about humanity, ethics, and resilience — about what happens when those who heal are misunderstood by the systems they serve. If you have ever wanted to understand the doctor’s side of the story — the fatigue, the failures, the faith that keeps them going — we hope you will find these books both moving and eye-opening.

These books are written for a cause and every proceed from sales is donated to charity.

Amazon link: link in comments

27/01/2026

27/01/2026

27/01/2026

The human heart can be a tricky one. A humbling one at times. Weeks ago a 63 year old gentleman in excellent health presented with fatigue during minimal activity.

His baseline is that of an active outdoorsman, avid cyclist and fisherman with no history, nor family history, of cardiac disease. Never smoked or touched alcohol in his life. Not on any medication.

The discomfort also did not fit the picture. No chest pain. No radiating pain. No pressure over his chest. Sometimes burning back pain. Maybe a fascet joint? Physiotherapy helped. Fatigue resumed. It must be cardiac but nothing confirms that diagnosis.

His ECG was clear. Cholesterol low. All cardiac bloods normal. No clot in the lungs on chest X-ray and bloods. Cardiac Calcium score very low. Repeat cardiac bloods 6 hours later. Normal. Exercise ECG ilicits fatigue, but the ECG is normal.

OK. I’m out of my depth. Let’s get a cardiologist’s opinion and review before it is to late.

The images tell the story. 90% blockage of the biggest artery supplying the heart muscle. A so called widow maker heart attack waiting to happen.

The affected area is shown in the first textbook sketch.

Look at how narrow the artery is in the first angiogram picture (top left), with poor blood supply to the heart muscle. Compered to the bottom two Post-Stent pictures with open arteries and a healthy heart getting blood full of oxygen.

A week after the procedure the px was mowing his lawn, walking on the beach at Cape Vidal and feeling like a new man.

If you experience any chest discomfort, radiating pain down an arm, crushing chest pain, or constant intolerance of exertion come see us at to make sure your heart is not the problem, and if it is, it can be rectified with no permanent damage if picked up early enough.

31/12/2025

Dr van der Walt will not be working on Friday 02 January 2026, but will be in Empangeni the entire time from now and over the New Year, until the schools start. In other words from 5 January 08 am until every Friday 16:30-17:00 PM the practice willbe covered by a doctor.

As a practice we are extremely grateful and indebted for Dr Suné Liebetrau, who could assist while i was on 3 months long term rehabilitation from a traumatic brain injury since early in August. Dr Liebetrau joined the practice permanently, since October 2025 and will be working in her own consultation room, speeding things up and bringing her expertise to the practice, as well as facilitating practices and procedures, requiring two doctors.

For any emergencies over the new year, PLEASE, do not hesitate to call, and i will be happy to help out.
Have a safe and blessed 2026. And for those on the roads pleas travel safe and be cautious

Please remember it is extremely hot and humid at present, and our venomous snakes are out and about. They are mostly placid, calm creatures by nature but incidends involving , dogs, children and untrained handlers happen. Keep entrances to rooms closed.

The picture below is a tyical example of a Mozambique spitting cobra hunting at night and the patient in this case was woken up by the bite at 23:00. Swift care from Mounties Ambulance Services and the reserve staff had us meet before his airway was compromised and gave time for the intra-venous steroids and antihistamines to work before the potentially life threatening Anti-Venom was given. The patient did not react at all to any drugs an only had to have a single organism abscess drained.

31/12/2025

To all our Zululand Patients - we wish you good health, a prosperous and blessed 2026 and especially for those on the road safe travels!!!

13/12/2025

To all the wonderful patients we had the privilege of treating in Mtunzini, may you have a wonderful festive season, a Merry Christmas, filled with blessings, and an abundant new year.

As of December 2025 Dr van der Walt and Dr Liebetrau will not be coming to Mtunzini on a Wednesday any longer. We encourage our patients to seek early medical advice, either with one of the resident doctors in Mtunzini, at our rooms in Empangeni, or at the hospital of your choice.

It was a real privilege to be part of Mtunzini’s healthcare since April 2024, and I am extremely grateful for the people I met during this time.

Kind regards,

Dewald van der Walt

27/10/2025

We regret to inform you that both dr Suné and dr Dewald will not be able to attend to the Mtunzini practice on Wednesday, 29 October because of other medical requirements in Empangeni. Should you need any assistance please phone us and schedule an appointment in Empangeni.

Our sincere apologies for the inconvenience.