Miracle child: Aphile's journey after devastating lift accident claimed twin brother

AFTER falling four storeys down a lift shaft in a Durban building, eight-year-old Aphile Dlamini survived while tragically losing her twin brother.

Now awake from a coma, her remarkable recovery journey is being documented by her devoted father, whose faith remains unshakeable despite the heartbreaking loss.

This is a story of extraordinary resilience, grief, and the enduring power of hope.

Just months ago, her life and her family's changed forever.

In October, 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 fell into darkness, victims of what has since been described as a devastating safety failure.

Aphelele did not survive. Aphile did.

Critically injured, she was rushed to the hospital and slipped into a coma. For weeks, her family lived in a state of 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 recovery, not 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 said.

The road to recovery is long. Aphile is undergoing physiotherapy, relearning basic movements many 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 in 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 twin, a bond that began while they were both still in the womb. 

Yet within that loss, there is light. For Dlamini, recovery is not measured only in medical charts, but in faith.

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

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