Shanel won't give up
2010-01-28
A LITTLE girl from Paarl who has lost her feet and hands, will soon be able to walk again, with the help of prosthetic limbs. With the latest advances in technology, Shanel Swarts (9) will also be able to use her arms again. A year ago, Shanel, lived in poverty on a farm outside Paarl and had never been to school. Then she contracted blood poisoning and to save her life, both her infected legs were amputated below the knee, and her left arm below the elbow. She also lost part of her right hand and underwent a partial nose amputation. Shanel is now in foster care with relatives in Paarl, when she is not at the Maitland Cottage for Disadvantaged Children. Her foster parents, her uncle Solomon Swarats and his wife Hendrika from Greenfields in Paarl East, took Shanel into their care to give her the opportunity to attend school. “She became ill at a very young age after she was in contact with somebody with meningitis. No-one took care of her and she did not attend any school,” they say. While she was in hospital, the Jumping Kids non-profit project was launched by Icexpress Progressive Prosthetics. Jumping Kids is a project which helps lower limb amputee children get back on their feet. The project assists 25 children per year. Shanel is the first in the Western Cape and one of six children who are already part of this project. “In a few weeks she will be active again,” says prosthetist Michael Nel, who is busy making the limbs for her. “For children it is easier to adapt. She will be undergoing an intensive program with physiotherapists and occupational therapists. “We assist children who are from a less fortunate background, giving them the opportunity to have prostheses and a new lease on life. “The kids that we helped in the first year will be maintained during the remainder of the five years of the project,” says Nel. “These children could also include cancer survivors, as local government hospitals don’t want to supply children in remission with prostheses, as they fear the cancer may return. “Kids with lower limb amputations have the potential to wear prostheses and go back to school to learn and play. “Not only do we want to supply them with prostheses to walk, but we will also give them the opportunity to participate in running activities, skate on a skateboard or just in general having fun as kids normally do,” he said. The project is run in close relation with paediatric orthopaedic surgeons and their clinics at the academic hospitals. A physiotherapist teaches the kids to walk and run. The Innovation Hub can provide children with the support they need to further them into successful careers. For more information on the Jumping Kids project, contact Michael Nel at michael@icexpress.co.za, 021-797-4155 or 082-748-7580. Donations can be made to Jumping Kids (cheque account 1602397139) at Nedbank Hatfield (160245).
More
News
|
