When a doctor told him he would never walk again after a car crash left him paralysed from the waist down, Anathi Mkwenkwe would have none of it.
Between physiotherapy sessions, the determined, rugby-loving, 22-year-old recycled odds and ends to build his own therapy equipment at his Newlands family home and refused to give into misery and defeat.
Yesterday, with the help of crutches and calipers, and after months of hard work, Mkwenkwe, 22, walked out of Life Rehabilitation centre to go back home.
This week Mkwenkwe told the Saturday Dispatch how the bakkie in which he was a passenger rolled twice in Bhisho after a tyre burst.
“It was just after leaving work and the driver lost control. I was in the back of the bakkie and when it came to a stop upside down I could not feel my legs at all.”
The tumbling vehicle injured his spine and at Frere Hospital a doctor gave him the damning news he would not walk again.
“I was very, very sad and I even cried, but I was not prepared to believe him and didn’t lose hope.”
Mkwenkwe’s tears soon dried up and after four months in hospital he went home in a wheelchair and attended weekly physio sessions at Cecilia Makiwane Hospital.
“I saw the parallel bars there so I decided to build them at home and a friend helped by finding some old planks in the bush. I also put a pulley above my bed using an old spring, rope and a weight to exercise my arms.
“My first priority was to walk and so I kept on pushing and exercised every day with the help of my brother.”
The resourceful young man and his makeshift rehab equipment came to the attention of Life Rehabilitation practice manager sister Desiree Cox after he was encouraged to seek help from the Road Accident Fund (RAF).
“The Life Rehabilitation and RAF case managers went to see him and were blown away by his motivation, determination and positivity as well as the equipment he had installed,” said Cox.
Mkwenkwe was admitted to the St Marks Road facility on June 28.
Physiotherapist Michelle van Nes explained that he had been left with an “incomplete spinal chord T12 injury” meaning its outcome is unknown.
“His biggest goal was to walk with crutches so we did core strength, lower back strength, balance, mat-work and aqua exercises.”
Occupational therapist Julia Toich praised Mkwenkwe’s determination.
“He never said no and often came back to do more than he was scheduled for. It’s been a very tough battle, but now with the help of crutches and calipers he can walk until the sweat drips because it is so difficult for him.”
Mkwenkwe, who dreams of playing rugby for his club again, said he would never quit his quest to walk unassisted.
Paralysed man defies odds to learn to walk
When a doctor told him he would never walk again after a car crash left him paralysed from the waist down, Anathi Mkwenkwe would have none of it.
Between physiotherapy sessions, the determined, rugby-loving, 22-year-old recycled odds and ends to build his own therapy equipment at his Newlands family home and refused to give into misery and defeat.
Yesterday, with the help of crutches and calipers, and after months of hard work, Mkwenkwe, 22, walked out of Life Rehabilitation centre to go back home.
This week Mkwenkwe told the Saturday Dispatch how the bakkie in which he was a passenger rolled twice in Bhisho after a tyre burst.
“It was just after leaving work and the driver lost control. I was in the back of the bakkie and when it came to a stop upside down I could not feel my legs at all.”
The tumbling vehicle injured his spine and at Frere Hospital a doctor gave him the damning news he would not walk again.
“I was very, very sad and I even cried, but I was not prepared to believe him and didn’t lose hope.”
Mkwenkwe’s tears soon dried up and after four months in hospital he went home in a wheelchair and attended weekly physio sessions at Cecilia Makiwane Hospital.
“I saw the parallel bars there so I decided to build them at home and a friend helped by finding some old planks in the bush. I also put a pulley above my bed using an old spring, rope and a weight to exercise my arms.
“My first priority was to walk and so I kept on pushing and exercised every day with the help of my brother.”
The resourceful young man and his makeshift rehab equipment came to the attention of Life Rehabilitation practice manager sister Desiree Cox after he was encouraged to seek help from the Road Accident Fund (RAF).
“The Life Rehabilitation and RAF case managers went to see him and were blown away by his motivation, determination and positivity as well as the equipment he had installed,” said Cox.
Mkwenkwe was admitted to the St Marks Road facility on June 28.
Physiotherapist Michelle van Nes explained that he had been left with an “incomplete spinal chord T12 injury” meaning its outcome is unknown.
“His biggest goal was to walk with crutches so we did core strength, lower back strength, balance, mat-work and aqua exercises.”
Occupational therapist Julia Toich praised Mkwenkwe’s determination.
“He never said no and often came back to do more than he was scheduled for. It’s been a very tough battle, but now with the help of crutches and calipers he can walk until the sweat drips because it is so difficult for him.”
Mkwenkwe, who dreams of playing rugby for his club again, said he would never quit his quest to walk unassisted.
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