Dedicated to my cousin, Tanya Prinsloo.
This week started off with such a rush after a really travelled weekend. Monday, I just could not get out of bed and that followed to the next morning where I decided that it is now time for a holiday, really it is.Tuesday morning I informed my direct manager of my plans and I purchased the tickets. I am going home, Mauritius from the 1st Sept and will return on the 16th. With all the delightfull information I returned home being content with my decisions and this is where all of this started..........
At 6:45pm I received a call from a family member in Cape Town explaining that my closest cousin was in a car accident that morning somewhere between Aliwal North and Burgersdorp. At that point I was shocked and did not really know what to do or say.......I called up my parents explaining them of the situation and I packed up, got all my shit together and grabbed Wayne's X5 and hit for the road. Believe me with such news floating in your mind, 500km's really seemed close and it took only 3 hours..........
Walking into ICU, I remembered how it felt to be stuck to a bed, bolts in your head holding your spine in position. It was not the best time in my life and I know it will not be for her as well. A long road of recovery will follow............
Trying to find a place to sleep was also with a lot of problems. But luckily I found something suitable at a price of coarse. We got into bed somewhere after 5 and and we were up at 8am. Back to hospital to see her leave for surgery. After which we sat down and had some breakfast I only came to know what happened. And this is how it goes.
While leaving her farm for shopping, she called up her mom. Without looking to see if the road was safe to cross and speaking to her mom on the phone, she crossed the road and a uncoming driver driving between speeds of 120+ hit har flat on her door resulting her to be slinged out of the front passenger window and landing 30m away from the impact site. Luckily no one else was in the car. The driver from the other car came of with only a fractured collar bone. She on the other hand with real damage.
After I picked her mom up from the airport and surgery that lasted almost 6 hours, the result was devasted. I can still see her mom standing infront of me broken down in pain when the doctor start to explain to her that her 22 year old 6 month pregnant daughter will never walk again in her life. Braking her back at the C6 vertabre leaving her bone marrow with permanent damage giving her a 1 % chance of walking ever again came quite with sudden shock and how it just makes your knees collapsed and make you realize how life can be taken away from you in an instant. Luckily she still have the use of her arms and will only be paralised from middle back down. At that point in time the baby was still OK, but due to the steroids that was introduce to reduce the inflamation at the break point, the baby the following morning could not survive and it was lost the following morning.
This is just that changed my life 5 years ago. Braking my C2 & C3 vertabre as well as 2 vertabre's in my lower back. Luckily I did not incur any damage to my bone marrow and today I am walking and still could experience other fractures in my body years to follow. I was with the grace of god that I'm not an invalide. I could relate what she was going through and it was just that moment where you can stat to reflect on your life...............
I believe things happen to people to make them learn from it. Different levels of problems hapens to different people, and only he knows how strong you really are and if you can cope from it. She will survive, maybe with a bid of some sort of disability, but she still can live a normal life. It might not be normal to us, but she will quickly learn that this will be her normal life. She will adapt and she could still be happy, no matter what the disability. That is what's important. But this is only feasible if she have people around her who loves her. That is what she needs, people around her to make her believe and that is strong for her.
Tanya, dit is nie die einde van die wereld nie. Jy het al deur baie moeilike situasises suksesvol uitgeloop en jy kan deur hierdie een kom. Onthou net dat ek baie lief is vir jou en dat ek altyd daar sal wees vir jou. Ons almal weet dat die situasie nie maklik sal wees nie, maar jy sal dit oorleef. Ek dink altyd aan jou. Sterkte my niggie!
ciao
