Desperate times... desperate measures!

Isidingo fans will once again be on the edge of their seats this week when Nandipha's health suddenly takes ANOTHER turn for the worse.

Meanwhile Parsons is taking drastic steps – with the knowledge of his family to try and save the life of his beloved.

Only tvplus knows about Nandipha's new setback, and only we can tell you about the shocking events that are about to unfold after the extreme lengths that Parsons is taking to try and save the love of his life.

Parsons has promised that he will always be by Nandipha's side – and now he is doing just that! What effect will Nandipha's current condition have on her marriage and her family?

And what will happen to Parsons? Can he save Nandipha's life?

Hearty reunion
Nandipha started out working as a maid in mine manager Pierre De Villiers' house. She was hard-working, beautiful, with a hint of mystery about her as she never spoke much.

The minute Parsons laid eyes on her it was love at first sight – but the road ahead was never going to be an easy one. Even though she was married, a fact that Parsons wasn't aware of, Nandipha allowed herself to fall in love again.

But the fact that she was now happily in love with Parsons didn't help in getting rid of her past demons. They say your past will always come back to haunt you... well, Nadipha's didn't just come back to haunt her but to kidnap her as well!

She was held captive by her gangster husband and during that time he repeatedly raped her. This is how she contracted HIV. Parson eventually managed to rescue her, but her husband got away scot-free.

"Nandipha has been through it all and has always risen to the occasions. She's very intelligent – spiritually and mentally and she knows what steps to take to make her stronger," Hlubi Mboya who plays Nandipha tells tvplus.

The love between Parson and Nandipha continued to grow until Nandipha's best friend and confidant Steve persuaded them to go for an HIV test. Viewers saw her get tested – a result that came back positive for HIV and Nandipha became the first South African soapie character to be HIV positive.

"I believe that my journey of life will always walk hand in hand with HIV/AIDS in Africa," she says. "It's something I want to pursue in my career; to educate and uplift the people of my country and my continent," says Hlubi.

Where there's a will
Because of Nandipha’s HIV positive status and not wanting to hurt Parsons, she decided to end their relationship without Parsons knowing the real reason.

A few months later and Parsons still couldn't get over his true love, and when he eventually found out she was HIV positive, he knew he couldn't leave her.

"Parsons loves Nandipha unconditionally," Tshepo Maseko (Parsons) tells tvplus. "He's discovered she was married before, has done drugs and shoplifted and still his love for her means that he will never leave her side."

Initially, the Matabane family protested against Nandipha and Parsons' relationship as they only wanted the best for their son. They also wanted him to have children of his own.

Their disapproval however did nothing to diminish the love between the two and Parsons decided to marry Nandipha regardless of his parents' consent and blessings.

"Even though we were against the whole marriage, our love for our son and knowing that he wasn't going to change his mind persuaded us to allow him to go through with it," says Keketso Semoko who plays Parsons' mother Ma Agnes.

Together they managed to control Nandipha's condition and their only disappointment was in never being able to have children. In a moment of madness – and probably driven by the desire to make her husband happy – Nandipha kidnapped a baby pretending she found it abandoned at the ON!TV studios.

"All Nandipha really wants is a life of her own, away from her in-laws. The life of a real married couple, with a family of their own,” says Hlubi.

Nandipha eventually succumbed to the pressure of lying to Parsons and gave the baby back to the rightful mother. At this point, not having a baby of their own is actually the least of their worries . . .

A big battle
At the moment Nandipha is not the cheerful, bubbly and energetic person that fans have come to know over the past few years. Instead, she’s the picture of pain, weakness and suffering. Tvplus can reveal that Nandipha will face yet another life threatening setback from Tuesday 8 May onwards. According to Dr Havel, the general practitioner of Horizon Deep, Nandipha will be on the verge of dying and the team of medical experts will do everything they can to help her!

Due to a side effect of the now-discontinued ARV's (Anti-Retrovirals) Nandipha will develop pancreatitis – while Parsons is still overseas trying to buy drugs to save her life.

He isn't even aware that Nandipha is having yet another medical setback and that her life will once again be hanging in the balance!

Once again, contrary his parents' advice and Nandipha's dying pleas, Parsons jetted off to London last week where he still is to buy drugs, currently illegal in South Africa, that could supposedly stabilise Nandipha's condition.

"Parsons' judgement is clouded right now. When a guy who doesn't have a criminal record, goes to smuggle drugs, it's a clear sign of losing their mind," Tshepo says.

Unfortunately for Parsons, the drugs he goes to buy in London and smuggles back into the country are not even the real product – but sugar pills! With the drugs strapped to his inner thigh, airport control and customs are his only worry now.

Viewers will see soon see how Parsons is arrested when he enters the South African airport and is booked for drug smuggling at customs with no bail granted. In a fit of rage, Zeb wishes that his son had never met Nandipha.

"Zeb and I are obviously worried that Parsons will get into trouble, but at the same time we wish that he can get anything to save Nandipha's life," says Keketso. Was Parsons' heroic trip to England worth landing up in jail?

Has he jeopardized the future and health of his beloved Nandipha in the process? Were his parents right all along saying that marrying Nandipha would only bring him unhappiness?

Well, their love has been through extremely rocky and traumatic times in the past and now it remains to be seen whether their love and Parsons determination will once again beat all odds.

Spoiler alert
If you prefer waiting to watch the heartache and nail-biting tension – then we suggest you stop reading now. For those who like to know how stories end, this is just for you...

Parsons will eventually be told that the "drugs" (which turned out to be sugar pills) wouldn’t have been able to save Nandipha's life anyway. Parsons then launches on a tirade against the government.

Tshepo says that if Parsons ran into the guy who sold him the fake drugs – he would honestly kill him. "Not only did Parsons risk his life, but also made Nandipha worry unnecessarily."

The good news though is that Parsons will be released from jail on Tuesday, 15 May when the lab results show that the drugs were nothing but sugar and flour.

Amidst all the craziness and drama that Parsons endures while his wife lies weak in her hospital bed, their love once again rises to the occasion. Nandipha's vital signs will improve again and she will be sent home by the doctors.

So what does the future hold for the golden couple of the Deep? "Well what happens is not really what reality predicts. There is a twist in the tale and let's just say that it will leave many people crying," Tshepo reveals to tvplus.