A Head of Hair for One New Leg
I'm raising money for my South African friend Amanda De Klerk who actually survived this horrendous crash back in May... yes she was the passenger in the front.
Her tibia, fibula, and knee were crushed and her femur was split in two. She immediately underwent a life saving operation and two further operations to save her leg and fix her cheekbone and shoulder.
She recently had to have yet another operation, removing part of her hip bone to recontsruct her femur. Amanda now has the long arduous journey of learning to walk again. Here were her first few steps after that operation.
Why am I getting involved? Amanda doesn't have access to free healthcare as we do. She wasn't insured either. She does not have the support of family. She has exhausted the support of close friends... the operations have cost in excess of £20,000. She has sold her car and obviously cannot work at present. 3rd Party Insurance may payout, but it will be a long battle and could take up to 10 years. She is an unbelievably wild spirit and great fun to be around - I simply can't imagine her wheelchair bound, especially as she lives in the fairly challenging South African Bush - which doesn't exactly do wheelchair access!
It could easliy have been me. The accident happened on the way to Hoedspruit, a small town in the South African Bush, a place I spend a great deal of time. I have been in the same mini-bus, I have travelled down that road so many times...
The accident happened one evening, when a lorry had broken down on the road. There are no street lights and the driver of the lorry failed to put his hazard lights on, leaving the driver of the mini bus very little time to avoid the collision. There were several passengers in the bus that night and all of them are alive thanks to the responsiveness of the driver. Sadly, it was Amanda in the front passenger seat that took the brunt of the crash.
Please sponsor me to SHAVE MY ENTIRE HEAD to help pay for Amanda's medical bills and care over the coming months, as she learns to walk again. I know it's not a daring act of courage, but girls consider for one minute how it would make you feel to lose your hair... or if you had to learn to walk again. Please give generously and stand by for some epic pictures as I'll be getting Amanda to shave my head in South Africa when I visit this autumn.
Huge heartfelt thanks
Kelly and of course, Amanda x
