In 1987 I became the Principal at a school in Mpumalanga South Africa. There I met the Head boy of the school for the first time. He immediately made a very good impression on me as he was a well- mannered child and such a friendly person. Then I found out he was very good at rugby and cricket and all sports he played he always did very well. He even got his provincial colours for most of these at the age of 13. He did very well academically and never less than 80% more often 85% so this child really had a lot of talent and was blessed with it. He also was brought up to realise that this was a blessing and not a right. This is what made him such a wonderful child.
After he finished high school he went to study as a medical doctor. Here he performed just the way we expected he would. The same way he was at school he was as a grown man. We were friends with his parents because our children were nearly the same age and we got along so well. In the year after getting his degree he had to work for a year in a hospital as trainee to finish the last part of his studies.
One week before this year had passed he was in an accident where he hit a tree. These vdeo's were made in memory of him please watch. video's courtesy of you tube.
This was the end of him. After the accident he was in a good condition but unfortunately after the operation he had an embolism and this caused severe damage. He was now a quadriplegic and further damage caused a syndrome called “locked in syndrome. His mother and father tried to look after him just after all this happened. It was very difficult and I remember my wife making a sling that they could use to lift him up and put him in the bath, as well as the swimming pool.
As the years passed he improved with very hard work and persistence. That is how I knew him. He was not able to speak or use his hands, and could only move his thumb a little bit. With that one finger he wrote two books of which the one was called “This too will pass” He really worked hard to achieve a lot in this very difficult life of his and he really is MY HERO because there are not many people who could accomplish what he did with only 5% use of his body.
He is an example to so many of us. We can so easily say we are unhappy with something and really forget what we have. He never complained and made the best of everything he could. In 2015 he passed away after chocking on food and due to his inability to cough and no one being close, he died. This was very sad to us all, but we will never forget him. He accomplished so much in his short lifetime. He even met Nelson Mandela, something few people can really say. Today we miss him, but we know that he is in a much better place and he can once again be the sportsman that he really was.
This is a picture of him with his parents. Sadly his mother was murdered with her own gun by a robber just a few years after this picture was taken. At least she is with him now.
