A father racing against time

Tendai Gukutikwa
Post Reporter
FOUR days before the 2025 Christmas, the Nyashanu household in Grange area near Old Mutare Mission was alive with the kind of hope that only the festive season brings.
The children spoke excitedly about the few days left before December 25, 2025. The two older ones, aged 15 and 11, had already begun planning what they would wear on the day, the seven-year-old counted down the days loudly each morning, while the four-year-old and the baby, just eight-months-old now, filled the house with laughter and innocent chaos.
Their father, Mr Town Nyashanu, a tobacco farmer, had been watching them quietly. The tobacco floors had long closed. There was no money saved. The season had been difficult. But he wanted to give his five children and his wife something special for Christmas, even if it was just a small surprise to brighten the special day which only comes once a year.
“I had never done it before, but on that day, I decided to go and prospect illegally for gold at Premier.
“I did it because I wanted to get my five children and wife something special for Christmas. I had nothing. I thought maybe I could find something small and sell it so that we could celebrate properly,” recalled Mr Nyashanu, from his bed, his voice slow and heavy.
It was a desperate decision made by a father who felt he had run out of options.
However, what was meant to be a one-day risk turned into a life-altering tragedy.
While inside a mining shaft, wet lumps of soil suddenly gave way. The ground above him collapsed and he was trapped inside.
Darkness swallowed him as tonnes of earth pressed down.
“It did not end well. It ended in tears for my family. Wet lumps of soil fell while I was in the shaft and I was trapped inside. It is a miracle that I was rescued that instant by the friends I had,” he said.
He was pulled out and rushed to Old Mutare Mission Hospital. When doctors realised that he could no longer walk, he was immediately referred to Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital for further assessment. It was there that his world changed completely.
“The doctor told me that scans showed that my back bones were heavily pressurised by my spinal cord and should be corrected. I was referred to the Neuro-Specialist Centre in Harare where a total of US$2 800 was needed for the whole procedure,” he said.
The accident happened in December 2025. Since then, Mr Nyashanu has been bedridden.
He cannot sit, stand or walk.
He cannot even turn himself in bed.
“All I do is sleep on the bed and wait to be tended to. I need constant care. My wife has to change the sides that I am sleeping on every two hours. She does everything for me, even helping me use the toilet,” he said.
Doctors advised that the corrective spinal procedure must be done within three months of the accident.
After that, they warned, the body would begin healing in a way that could complicate surgery and reduce chances of recovery.
“My three months lapse on March 21. I am poor, and so are my relatives. I do not know where to get this kind of money,” he said.
That deadline is now only two weeks away.
A quotation from Neuro-Specialist Centre in Harare outlines the required costs under US$ cash payment terms.
The breakdown includes procedure 202/A (extended) equipment combo set, US$1 741, transport and logistics, plus special handling fee (Harare to Mutare and back), US$270, autoclave plus sterility-chain, US$354 and technician fees of US$405.
For a struggling farming family in Grange, that figure feels insurmountable.
While Mr Nyashanu lies immobile, the burden of survival rests entirely on his wife, Ms Getrude Kilimira, who in an interview, described how life has transformed since the accident. “Everything changed in one day. Before that, even though we did not have much, we were managing. My husband worked hard. The children were happy. We were looking forward to Christmas,” she said.
Instead, Christmas came and went with their father lying flat on a bed, unable to even lift his head properly to watch his children open the little they had managed to gather.
“There was no celebration. The children were confused. They kept asking why their father could not stand up,” she said, fighting back tears.
Since that day, her life has become a relentless cycle of care giving and survival.
“So far I have been taking care of the family as well as him. He needs to be turned every two hours. If I do not do that, he develops sores. I have to feed him. I have to help him bathe. I have to help him use the toilet,” she said, adding that the demands leave little room for income-generating chores.
“It is very hard to work properly because he needs me all the time. Sometimes I leave him for a short while to try and do something outside, but my heart is not at peace. I worry something might happen,” she said.
Their older children have been forced to grow up quickly, with the 15-year-old now helping with chores that once belonged to his father. The 11-year-old assists with the younger siblings.
The seven-year-old tries to be brave, but often sits quietly besides their father’s bed.
“The baby does not understand, but sometimes when the baby cries at night, I will be already tired from turning my husband and feels like my body cannot go on,” said Ms Kilimira. The family’s small home, once filled with movement and activity, has become centred on a single bed.
Mr Nyashanu speaks softly about his children, pausing often as if conserving energy.
“I think about them all the time. I think about the baby who will grow up not remembering me walking. I think about my older children who now see me like this,” he said, insisting that he does not regret wanting to provide for them.
“I just wanted them to have a good Christmas. I did not know it would end like this,” he said. The clock, however, is ticking.
Doctors were clear that the corrective procedure must be done before the three-month window closes. After March 21, complications could arise as the body continues to heal in its damaged position, making surgical intervention far more difficult.
For now, the family waits, according to Mr Nyashanu.
They wait for a miracle, for a well-wisher, for anyone willing to step into their story and help rewrite its ending.
“I am appealing to anyone that might want to help me. Please assist me so I can have this surgery. I want to walk again. I want to work again. I want to take care of my children,” said Mr Nyashanu.
Ms Kilimira echoed the plea.
“We are not asking for luxury. We are asking for a chance. If he can get this surgery, maybe our life can return to normal. Maybe our children can have their father back,” she said.
With only two weeks left before his surgical window closes, time is running out for the father who once descended into a mine shaft hoping to bring home Christmas joy and now lies immobile, praying for a second chance at life.
Those willing to assist Mr Town Nyashanu can contact him on 0771324978.
His wife, Ms Getrude Kilimira, can be reached on +263784727764.