Zakiya Mckenzie
zakiyam@caxton.co.za
Louisa Brown and Jude Gilbert are shining examples of how life can change in a quick moment, but never to the point where one must give up hope or what they love doing.
The two are not bitter or self-pitiful in the least.
In fact they are very aware and I dare say they take pride in being amputees. NMT caught up with the pair at the Netcare Rehabilitation Hospital Sports day that took place on 15 September in Auckland Park.
Brown, from El Dorado Park, lost her leg in a car accident more than a decade ago. It is unmistakable how comfortable she is with her prosthetic leg. After all, being pregnant and delivering twins as a recent amputee is no easy feat. Brown’s twins are now ten years old and are delighted to be the daughters of their “robot mom”.
Jude Gilbert from Swaziland lost his left leg after an unfortunate motorbike mishap in September last year.
“When I had my accident, the doctor said ‘if we don’t cut your leg off you will die. I told them to let me die, but since then I’ve learned that life does go on and events like this sports day give people like us good motivation.”
Both Gilbert and Brown are still very active individuals. Brown loves sports and goes to the gym almost every day. She mentioned that new technology in prosthetic development such as the ‘high performance knee’ has given her something that fit’s her high activity life. Gilbert, who loved playing rugby before his accident, still works on large trucks and services cars.
“Once you are amputated it’s easy to feel like your life is finished”, said Gilbert. “But there’s no point sitting around feeling sorry for yourself,” added Brown, “always have something to look forward to and to keep you motivated.”
