Xolani’s triumph after cancer, drugs
“THE BEST thing I ever did was to put that needle down and pick up those running shoes.”
Sage words from amputee Xolani Luvuno, who completed the gruelling 89km Comrades Marathon on one leg on Sunday, with crutches and sheer determination.
“When I crossed the finish line I had a flashback of my life. And one thing I am proud of is for swopping my nyaope addiction for a running addiction.”
He said the cheers from the crowd as he came running down the road made him feel worthy, and that he deserved to live and make a difference.
“I’ve never considered myself to be much… But on Sunday I was everything.”
And he had already planned the next item on his bucket list when he spoke to The Star’s sister paper, the Pretoria News, yesterday.
He has set his sights on the Iron Man, a gruelling triathlon, in January, for which he has already started training.
It is no secret that Luvuno’s life has not been a bed of roses.
After being orphaned at a young age, losing a limb to bone marrow cancer, sleeping on the streets for years and fighting a drug addiction, the 34-year-old from the Eastern Cape said he finally had something to brag about.
He moved to Pretoria in his 20s in search of a brighter future, got caught up in the murky world of drugs and ended up begging at traffic lights in Centurion.
And then a hero without a cape, in the form of Hein Venter, spotted and rescued him from the streets and gave him a prosthetic leg. After tremendous help, patience and care from Venter, Luvuno began a new drug- and cancer-free life.
“I used to drive past Xolani every day to and from work,” Venter said. “I was intrigued by how young he was and having only one leg. And I wondered what he was doing on the streets.”
Curiosity got the better of Venter in March, and he stopped to ask Luvuno about his life. The first thing Luvuno said to Venter was: “Hello father, how are you?”
Venter was touched by his story and took him to his home in a nearby estate. He gave him clean clothes, food and a bed. Venter asked one of his employees to find a room to rent for Luvuno in Mamelodi.
“I saw something in him. He’s my boy,” said Venter, who was overcome. He got him off drugs and gave him a job at his company, Sunbird perfumes, and got him into running.