‘You Will Walk Again’: Twin Who Lost Brother in Durban Lift Shaft Fall Takes First Steps Toward Recovery

Eight-year-old Aphile Dlamini is a living miracle. Her small body bears witness to a fall that should have killed her. Her heart bears the weight of a loss that will never heal.

In October last year, Aphile and her twin brother, Aphelele, fell four storeys down a non-functional lift shaft at a Homii residential building in Durban. What should have been an ordinary day turned into a nightmare in seconds. The twins plunged into darkness, victims of a catastrophic safety failure.

Aphelele did not survive. Aphile did.

A Coma, Then a Miracle

Critically injured, Aphile was rushed to hospital and slipped into a coma. For weeks, her family lived in suspended breath, clinging to prayers and the faintest signs of movement. Doctors were cautious. The injuries were severe. The fall had been catastrophic.

Then, in November, something remarkable happened.

Aphile opened her eyes.

For her father, Khaya Dlamini, that moment was nothing short of divine intervention. Since then, he has been documenting her recoverynot for attention, but for hope. His social media updates have become a window into a father’s love and a child’s extraordinary resilience.

“You’re going to make it, my baby, okay? You’re going to be fine. You will walk again,” he tells her.

Small Victories, Giant Leaps

The road back is long. Aphile is undergoing physiotherapy, relearning basic movements that most take for granted: sitting up, holding herself steady, building strength in fragile muscles.

Each milestone, no matter how small, is celebrated like a triumph.

“Look at you sitting today, this is a miracle,” her father says after one physio session, pride warming his voice. “You are strong and amazing. I love you.”

Behind every word is grief. Aphile is healing physically, but she is also recovering in the shadow of losing her twina bond that began while they were both still in the womb.

Hope in the Darkness

The Dlamini family’s story is one of tragedy and triumph intertwined. A little girl learning to walk again while mourning the brother who should be walking beside her. A father documenting every step, not to go viral, but to show the world what faith looks like.

Some days are hard. Some are easier. But each day Aphile wakes up is another victory.

“You will walk again,” her father promised.

She is proving him right.

{Source: IOL}

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