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After suffering severe injury to his neck while playing in a rugby tournament in September last year, which initially left him paralysed, four months later an avid rugby player, Anzil Williams (16) from Humansdorp, is looking forward to continuing positive results in his recovery, and celebrating all the excitement of being in matric.
Spokesperson for the Williams family, Shahida Japtha, said that Anzil was home for the first time in three months and spent the Christmas holidays with his family, after the tragic accident which took place while he represented Humansdorp Senior Secondary School in a sevens rugby tournament in Knysna.
Japtha said that Anzil, who is currently receiving physical rehabilitation at Aurora Special Care Centre in Gqeberha, was home from December 22 to 26, which they were all truly grateful for since he had not been home for quite some time.
“It was wonderful for Anzil and the rest of the family to have him home, and we all had a good time together. During his short stay at home he was able to spend time with his cousins, and some of his friends. It was also a good break away from the hospital,” said Japtha.
She said that Anzil’s recovery has been showing great progress each day, and that the doctors were surprised by how well he was coping with his progress during their daily physiotherapy sessions.
After spending almost three months at Aurora, his time at the centre will come to an end later this month, and they are still waiting for confirmation on his discharge date.
Japtha said that he will still need to continue with his physiotherapy sessions once he is back home in Humansdorp, and they are therefore researching various options which will work best for both Anzil and his family.
She said that most physiotherapists are based in Jeffreys Bay, and they are currently searching for the best place that can accommodate Anzil and his routine.
Despite the outpouring of support and financial assistance from people in South Africa and all over the world, which they are grateful for, Japtha said that they will still need a great deal of support to help Anzil receive the assistance he needs.
She said that they are therefore encouraging people to contribute to Anzil’s BackaBuddy campaign which can be found on the BackaBuddy website.
Even though Anzil has faced many challenges on his road to recovery, Japtha said that he has remained positive at least 90 percent of the time.
“Anzil has always been a positive person, before and after the accident. The pictures we share on social media of him smiling are a true reflection of his positivity,” said Japtha.
She further said that since he passed Grade 11 last year, he has made the decision to continue with Grade 12 which he will complete through the home-schooling system.
“After Anzil received his results last year, we consulted with him to find out if he wanted to continue with Grade 12 this year, and he was more than eager. He made the decision himself and he is excited about being in matric,” said Japtha.
She said that as a family they have continuously motivated Anzil and have encouraged him to believe that he will make a full recovery.
