Three-foot potjies (pots) were filled to the brim as the community came together to raise funds for Anthony Butler, a hopeful para-athlete at La Marveille wedding venue in Zambezi, north of Pretoria on Saturday.
Rekord spoke to Corali Butler, Butler’s wife of 13 years, who said the fundraiser was held to help her husband go to Portugal to participate in athletic games for persons with disabilities.
“We are having this fundraiser to raise funds for the International Wheelchair & Amputee Sports (IWAS) federation disabled world games, which will be held in Portugal. They are competing as a club called Isability and must pay for the trip themselves,” said Butler.
Butler told Rekord that her husband lost his leg in 2003 after a tragic accident in Kwa-Zulu Natal.
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“We were on holiday in Margate when there was a car on our side of the road. Anthony was driving and he had to swerve out of the way. We hit a pavement and he lost control,” she said.
Butler said the car they were travelling in rolled a couple of times and they both lost consciousness.
“Anthony’s feet were stuck between the dashboard and the windscreen. I passed out and then heard him calling my name. That’s when I woke up and tried to get up, but my door was stuck,” she said.
Butler said she managed to get out through a broken car window.
They were taken to a KZN hospital where they were told that Butler’s husband only suffered a minor fracture.
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“My dad came to fetch us because our car was written off. On our way home from KZN, Anthony complained that he could not breathe. So we ended up at Steve Biko hospital. They told us that three of his ribs were broken and he had punctured his lung,” she explained.
Her husband’s leg also did not have any blood flow.
“They tried to save the leg, but it was not successful and Anthony’s leg had to be amputated,” she said.
Anthony thanked his wife for her support, saying that he could not be where he is today had it not been for her.
“I want to thank my wife. She is my pillar of strength,” he said.
He also thanked those who attended the competition and those who helped make the fundraising a reality.
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