Hermanus Family Practice

Bask in these beams of sun as you find your new beginnings, a new way of seeing,
a grace-filled way of living.
Oh, how steady hope makes the soul in the river rush of things you cannot control.
For somehow through it all, you have still been made whole.
Because as sure as the water makes way past the river stones, so does hope carry you past the depth of your unknowns, under fogged and white-gray skies that demand the most of tired eyes, the sound of the rushing river gently speaks:

all is passing, truly passing.
- Morgan Harper Nichols

Are you the person who arrives at a doctor’s appointment fully prepared, with a list of symptoms, questions and notes? Or are you the person who makes a last-minute appointment, forgets everything the moment you walk through the door and just wings it?

We have a combination of both at our practice!

Either way, we love our patients — prepared, unprepared and everything in between. And most importantly, we’re here to look after your health. ❤️

Dr Wouie Basson is officially consulting from Hermanus Family Practice🫶

Dr Wouie is a compassionate mental health practitioner dedicated to providing accessible, patient-centred care. With over 10 years of experience across the public and private sectors, she takes a holistic approach, working collaboratively with each patient to develop personalised treatment plans that support both recovery and long-term wellbeing.

Dr Wouie obtained her MBChB from Stellenbosch University in 2008 and completed her Diploma in Mental Health (SA) in 2016. She has been practising in Hermanus since 2023 and consults both in person and virtually.

We are so happy to have her with us and to support our patients’ mental health with an evidence based, supportive approach.

We have been keeping a secret☺️

Any guesses who is going to be joining our practice- I will give a clue:

🤎🤎🤎

Try it 🥰 (not the peptide part) 🙃

After a viral illness like influenza, some children develop a temporary inflammation of the muscles called benign acute childhood myositis.

It most often affects the calf muscles, which can suddenly become:

* sore
* tight
* and painful to stretch

Because of this, children may start walking on their toes or refuse to put their heels down — not because of a neurological problem, but because their calves feel too painful to stretch normally.

Why does it happen?

After flu (especially influenza B), the body’s immune response can temporarily affect muscle tissue, particularly in the lower legs. This leads to muscle inflammation and stiffness during recovery.

What it looks like:

* Child recovering from flu or a viral illness
* Sudden onset calf pain or stiffness
* Difficulty walking normally / toe-walking
* Often worse in the morning
* Child otherwise alert and improving from the virus

The reassuring part:

This condition is self-limiting and usually resolves within 3–7 days without long-term effects.

When to be cautious:

Always seek medical review if:

* child cannot walk at all
* symptoms are worsening instead of improving
* fever returns or child looks unwell again
* weakness is severe or one-sided

Treatment:

* rest
* hydration
* simple pain relief if needed (as advised by a clinician)
* reassurance (the most important part)

⸻

Bottom line:
Post-flu toe-walking is often not neurological — it can simply be sore calves recovering from a viral myositis that passes quickly.

Have you ever had a toe walker after a flu-like illness?

A few things you didn’t know about our doctors-Dr Linda and Dr Marisna😄

*They love sitting in unusual places
Floors, counters, leaning against walls, perching on desks, squatting against a wall…
* They have a hyperfocus beast mode-
Can read papers at 1 am for three hours about a niche syndrome no one asked about, but may avoid answering routine emails for days.
Also don’t feel offended if they don’t want to talk to anyone after a busy day.
* they love Accidental “chair configurations”
Knees tucked up, sitting cross-legged in office chairs, one foot under them, folded into positions that make others ask, “Is that comfortable?
* Unusually deep patient connections (when Dr Linda runs an hour late that is why)
Patients often say things like: “I don’t know why, but I just told you things I’ve never told anyone.”
*They are brilliant in emergencies; destroyed by forms, inboxes, repetitive paperwork, and appointment scheduling.
* Parallel play friendships
Sitting in silence doing notes together and considering that quality social time. Nothing like a continuous rhythm of typing together to strengthen a friendship🥰

* If their doors are closed and a patient is not with them you will find marisna either napping or running on her treadmill and Linda either staring into the void or aggressively researching a new system that will automate her data capturing system even more effortlessly (mostly without success!)🙊