Crystal Park man needs a new prosthetic leg to support family
A Crystal Park resident needs pain pills to get through his day, as his old prosthetic leg has become a liability.
Rudi Burger (39) is a supervisor at Superspar Rynfield, where he has worked since it opened, about 15 years ago.
He needs the use of two legs to work, but is now forced to walk around with a crutch, due to the deteriorating condition of his three-year-old prosthetic leg.
Burger’s wife, Liezel (36), and their six-year-old daughter, Elzaan, depend on his income, which, in turn, depends on his use of both legs.
As Liezel has a heel spur, a small bone protruding from her heel, she can’t bring in an income at the moment.
“She also used to work at the Superspar, but standing for long periods became too straining with her foot,” said Rudi.
“At the moment she cares for Elzaan after school, but if her heel could be cured and she could find another job, we could organise after-school care for our daughter.”
Rudi was born with a skew ankle on his left foot and the first operation was undertaken when he was two-and-a-half years old.
He underwent three more operations in the following two years, but the leg problems continued into adulthood.
During the second operation, the doctors put a Stylmen-rod into Rudi’s leg, to keep it straight.
The rod helped him to walk properly, but bent out of shape over the years.
In 2005, after Rudi had fallen down a flight of stairs, the rod had bent too much and an operation was undertaken to transplant bone into his leg.
The operation failed and, being married and with a baby on the way, Rudi opted to have his leg amputated.
“It is hard, sometimes, I stress a lot, because I don’t want to lose my job,” he said.
“I need my job to pay the bills and look after my family and I think the stress contributed to my recent loss of weight and keeps me up at night, sometimes.
Rudi’s first prosthetic leg was paid for by Kobus van der Merwe, the owner of the Superspar at which he works.
For his second leg, Rudi was on a state waiting list for two years and he said the leg lasted only a year and a half.
His family helped pay for his third and current leg, but as it pushed them into debt, he doesn’t want to ask for their help again.
A new leg will cost the Burgers R56 270 and, they said, Liezel’s foot operation will likely be twice as expensive.
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