“INSPIRATIONAL” helicopter enthusiast, George Swart of the Bluff was given the chance of a lifetime when he was taken on a flip over Umhlanga and the sea on Tuesday, 30 August.
Swart, who has cerebral palsy and is mostly confined to a wheelchair, was surprised yesterday when colleague, Konrad Jones arrived at their Netcare 911 office and told him to get ready.
“I had no idea what was going on,” said George. “Konrad had phoned me earlier in the day to ask for my ID number for work purposes – which was a little out of the ordinary, but I let it go. Next thing I knew, he was telling me to follow him outside.”
Konrad, who arrived at the office in the helicopter, said he had been itching for a long time to do something special for George and he finally got his chance.
“It was a spur of the moment thing but something that had been sitting in the back of my mind for a long time. I was due to go for a jaunt in the helicopter to do some test runs and I asked if we could end the trip by picking up George and taking him for a short tour,” said Konrad, who is a Netcare 911 rescue manager.
As one of the team members who is generally restricted to the office, Konrad and his colleagues were excited to provide George with the opportunity. Twenty-four hours later, George, whose love for helicopters goes back to before his days in the air force, was still finding it hard to hide his grin as he talked about the jaunt.
“The trip was mind-blowing, awesome, surprising and not what I expected but in a pleasant sense. We went around Umhlanga and out to sea then back. We flew really low and I could see so much. I am still floating,” said a beaming George.
The 46-year-old has lived on the Bluff his whole life, along with many other family members. He has worked at Netcare in an administrative and customer care position for the last 16 years. According to colleagues, Konrad and Chris Botha, he is a meticulous worker and an illustration of fortitude.
“He is an inspiration and an example to able-bodied workers. Where some people moan about everything, he just gets on and does it. He is an example for other people with disabilities too – just because you are disabled, doesn’t mean you can’t live life to the fullest. He just gets up and goes. He is meticulous and is always willing to do anything,” said Chris.
“George has always been an active member of our team and this experience is well-deserved. It has had a massive impact on everyone, not just George or those of us directly involved – everyone who knows George or of him has been uplifted by this. George is the support structure and glue that holds our KZN operation together so to give back to him was an amazing feeling,” added Konrad.
“It was an awesome experience and I am blessed and honoured to work with a team like this. My family were really chuffed – it’s a good thing my parents didn’t know beforehand, as they would have been scared but they were happy for me when I showed them the photos and they were so grateful. After everything I have been through, this has had a fantastic impact on my life,” said George.
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