Critical injuries from taxi crash put Comrades Marathon dreams on hold
RANDPARK RIDGE – Susan Labuschange's life changed after she was hit by a taxi that left her critically injured, she shares her new normal.
An avid runner, Susan Labuschange had an aspiration to run the Comrades Marathon this year, however, this attainable dream was put on hold after a taxi jumped a red light and crashed into her.
Running all her life, she grew to really enjoy the outdoors and loved noticing small things people might miss.
Through the sport, she loved so dearly she has won numerous club awards.
Her love of people makes working in the medical and dental industry the perfect fit for her.
“By nature, I love to give stuff to people and assist in any way I can, and my current role has me doing a lot of community work so it fits perfectly into what I love doing,” she said.
In the last months, she has not been able to appreciate the outdoors she loves so much because, as she put it, she was done an injustice by a taxi driver who disobeyed a simple traffic rule.
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On 3 December last year, Labuschange ran her usual route through her neighbourhood and was followed by her husband and five-year-old daughter by car.
She explained that she was running up Molope Road towards Chaplin Avenue when a taxi drove at great speed on a demarcated island and struck her.
“I was lucky, there were two doctors who saw the accident and rushed to assist me, even before the ambulance arrived they had me on a drip and I believe they were definitely sent, they were angels.”
She sustained two broken legs, a massive brain injury, a collapsed lung, internal bleeding and a dislocated shoulder and spent about four weeks at Wilgehuewel Hospital where she was also put on life support for some time.
Her husband, who witnessed the incident, thought that there was no way she would have survived such horrific accident.
“He got out the car and saw me lift my hand towards him for help. As children are not allowed in ICU, the last image my daughter had of me was seeing me on the side of the road.
It has been a traumatic experience for my family and we have had to see psychologists,” she said.
As she goes through rehab, every day is now a focus on getting better with the aim of making a difference.
She still wants to run the Comrades Marathon but, for now, she just wants to regain her strength to be the mother her daughter can play with outside, and reclaim her independence.
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