Thabo’s brand LETZ stands for ‘Live every day till Z’. He tells me it is a personal mantra that has comforted him throughout a long physical and mental journey. It is his reminder to fully embrace each day, right up until the last second. “I was only 17 when I started living alone in Cape Town. My grandparents, who raised me, had both passed away a few months apart. I tried getting jobs here and there, in order to survive,” Thabo explains.
“I was just trying to make ends meet, when one day I woke up in hospital without a leg.” In August 2013 Thabo was involved in a serious motorcycle accident. He was 19 at the time.“ I was in Tygerberg hospital for nine months, alone. I almost lost both legs and I had a skull fracture, which wiped my memory for a very long time. There was a stage when I wasn’t sure I knew my own name.”
Athletically built and with a passion for sport, Thabo struggled with the loss of his right limb. He recalls, “I was 20 when I got out of hospital and I had to survive.
I was jobless, and I was depressed. I attempted suicide twice.” With very few options and bound to a wheelchair, he made his way to a traffic light, but he could not bring himself to beg.
“I used to love sports. I realised I couldn’t play rugby again, and I needed to find something that I loved doing to keep myself motivated. But the first thing I needed to do was embrace my disability. Things changed the moment I did that. I accepted that I am differently abled. I don’t say ‘disabled’ anymore.”
Denne historien er fra Issue 283-utgaven av Big Issue.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 283-utgaven av Big Issue.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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