Japie gets a new ‘blade’

Friend’s persistence to help amputee runner pays off

letter to a national sports magazine, and, immediately after it was published, readers from all over the country donated funds towards the cause. Following that, they acquired the orthopaedic services of Ettienne Schutze who also helped to raise funds to have the prosthetic leg made.

“Japie gets a walking leg from former employees every five years. But it is only a walking leg and we actually wanted to help him from a sporting point of view, so that he can run. My main aim was to get him running because he loves it,” Van der Walt said. “He has competed in and finished a couple of marathons, so we were looking for someone who could make a “leg” that he could screw on and off with the same fitting for both the walking and running legs.”

Van der Walt has a personal connection with the Greyvenstein family that drove him to find help.

“I was friends with his dad and we played rugby together. I saw him struggling and I had to help,” he said.

Van der Walt thanked Schutze, the people of Komani and others from as far afield as Cape Town, Johannesburg and East London, who donated funds.

“I started running from an early age. I do not drink, I do not smoke, I just run,” an emotional Greyvenstein said. “There are people with two legs who can never do what I do. Besides running I also enjoy painting. I just want to say thank you for all that people have done for me.”

The new blade is made of carbon fibre, with Schutze saying Greyvenstein would be able to continue running. “He used to complain about pains in his stump and this new socket does not cause him any pain. I made it with the test socket first, before making the final leg to ensure that he is happy and comfortable with it.”