Geduld resident Warren van Eck (17), who has cerebral palsy, received a wheelchair on Tuesday.
His mother, Lesley van Eck (42), says although he needs a specialised wheelchair, the chair they received is more than welcome at this point in time.
She gives thanks to the kind Selcourt doctor and one of his employees, Juanita de Lange, who organised the wheelchair for her son.
Lesley says being without a wheelchair has put a tremendous amount of pressure on the family.
“The wheelchair a local pharmaceutical company sponsored is not a specialised wheelchair, but we are grateful that we can at least push him around instead of currying him around,” says Lesley.
Warren’s father Hennie (45) and his brother had to carry him wherever they went, as both his arms and legs are affected by his condition and he has no mobility.
“We knew he was developing much slower than other children, but we thought it was because he was born six weeks too early,” she says.
His parents had no idea what was wrong with him, but noticed he was much slower than the average child at three months.
It was only when he became sick at the age of three months, and they took him to a doctor in Parow, Cape Town, where they lived at the time, that Warren was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
Lesley remembers the day as if it happened yesterday.
“All the dreams you have for your child disappear and you suddenly start asking the famous, ‘Why us? Why our child?”
“But he is our son and we decided to find out as much as possible on cerebral palsy,” she says.
They attended several information courses at a hospital in Parow and also read everything they could lay their hands on to gain more information.
Warren can only hold a soft toy in his hands, cannot walk and wears nappies.
He needs to be fed, bathed and dressed by his mother, father or brother Christiaan (22).
Lesley says they received a lot of support from the Selcourt doctor.
“When they heard Warren’s story, they were willing to jump in and find a wheelchair.
“For the company to donate the chair, to do this for Warren, has me speechless,” says Lesley.
Hennie says the donation is very special and, although it is not a specialised chair, it will at least give Warren some freedom.
“They can’t go anywhere and desperately needed a chair.
“His dad and brother have to pick him up and carry him everywhere he goes, unless he has the proper mobility product,” says Juanita.
The search continues for a specialised wheelchair, but the family’s appreciation for the chair they have received goes beyond words.
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