Pooja to walk tall on new legs
WHEN 12-year-old Pooja Santhoo took her first tentative step yesterday (Tuesday), it marked a major milestone in her life.
It was the culmination of the wishes of not only the the determined Isipingo lass, who was born without arms and legs, but of POST readers who made it possible.
Cash amounts, big and small, flowed in over the past four months, totalling a whopping R250 000.
This was in response to our campaign to get Pooja prosthetic arms, which cost R109 000, and the legs, for R129 500.
While Pooja is undergoing physiotherapy to gain full use of her arms, fitted a month ago, her prosthetic legs are already giving her ideas.
She asked orthotist Tjaard Kruger, of TAP Kruger Orthopaedics, if she could one day wear stilettos.
And while this was met with laughs, Kruger, who met Pooja in May with his practice partner Chris Beresford, said anything was possible as she was a “determined young lady”.
Despite her challenges, Pooja has been trying to live a normal life and was able to independently use her cellphone, using her right stump to type.
Beresford said it would take about five months and occupational therapy for Pooja to settle into her new legs.
She does not have a proper hip joint, and with no ankle bone, but muscle strengthened from years of walking on the stump, this has resulted in her pelvis and spine tilting, explained Kruger.
“It is going to be a big challenge for Pooja to walk but we are trying to make the process as normal as possible.
“First step is getting her to balance on the legs.”
Having prosthetic legs would improve her quality of life, he said. “She will dress better; people will be able to look her in the eye as opposed to looking down. It’s going to be much easier for her.”
Pooja’s foster father, Rolly Maharaj, 57, said he was extremely grateful to everyone who had helped. “I am thrilled.”
POST editor Yogas Nair said: “I would like to thank each reader of POST who contributed so generously to such a worthy cause.”
Shoprite has also donated a substantial sum and pledged to take care of Pooja’s schooling and personal needs for the next three years.
Shoprite director Willem Hunlun said: “Our supermarket group sincerely believes that business should be actively involved in the communities we operate in.
“Being part of the pulse of each of these communities, we are attuned to their needs and the plights they may face.
“This is why we embrace our responsibility as the largest retailer in Africa to grow with our people and to offer support where it is needed most.
“As part of our social responsibility we responded to Pooja’s plight and helped make her dream come true.”