Wife of taxi driver who blacked out on road shares fears
For more than 20 years, David Geibeb (70) has spent his days behind the wheel of his taxi, driving passengers around Windhoek to provide for his family.
But on Friday morning last week, his daily routine took an unexpected turn when he lost consciousness while driving along John Meinert Street and crashed into a private property.
Geibeb, who is known to many of his passengers as ‘Oupa’, has been driving a taxi since 2004.
His wife of 36 years, Marta Geibes (59), says her husband is recovering at home after the crash, but is still in pain.
“He just blacked out, and his sugar was very low,” she told The Namibian yesterday.
Geibes said her husband suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure, and she believes low blood sugar caused him to lose consciousness while driving.
Geibes said the news of her husband’s accident made her fear she might lose the man she has shared her life with for more than three decades.
“I felt very bad. I felt like he was going to die,” she said.
The couple has been married for 36 years, of which Geibeb has spent much of his time working to provide for the family.
“He does not drink or smoke. All these years, he has taken care of his home and his family. He is a very hardworking person. He is everything to us,” she said.
Geibes described Geibeb as a caring husband who has always treated her with respect.
“In all these years, he has never raised his hand against me. Not once,” she said.
She said her husband’s earnings from driving a taxi, together with her own income, have helped them raise their children and pay off their house.
Geibeb turned 70 on 26 September, just weeks before the accident.
His daughter, Elrietha Engelbrecht, yesterday said: “He has been driving a taxi since we were small. Although my mother is also working, this is his daily bread.”
She said her father once received a ‘Top Taxi’ award in recognition of his work.
END OF THE ROAD
Geibeb’s son, Presley, yesterday told The Namibian he does not think his father will return to continue his business on the road.
“It will put pressure on us, the siblings, to maintain and sustain our household,” he said.
Presley said his father owns the involved vehicle and has always determined his own working hours.
Windhoek City Police sergeant Itezeua Tjisemo, who spoke to The Namibian at the scene last Friday, said: “He told me he was driving from that side of town, and all of a sudden, he found himself there.”
Tjisemo said he understood that Geibeb suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure, but could not confirm whether this caused the accident.
Medical doctor Norbert Muramira says people with diabetes and high blood pressure can experience sudden medical emergencies, including loss of consciousness.
He says people with diabetes face similar risks when their blood sugar level is too high or too low.
“Medication may be taken every day, but sometimes you eat less, you don’t eat, or you delay eating. The sugar then drops so low that you collapse. A combination of diabetes and hypertension can lead to collapse. The worst scenario is a stroke,” he says.
Muramira advises drivers with these conditions to take their medication as prescribed, monitor their blood pressure and blood sugar level, and eat regularly.
“They have to know they are diabetic, they are on treatment, and they have to get regular meals,” he says.
Muramira also advises diabetic drivers to carry sweets or another source of fast-acting sugar in case their blood sugar drops.
