Sikhosnke Mani is only 21 years old. On 4th April 2009 he was doing what he loves best, captaining the Port Elizabeth rugby team, Gladiators, in a league game. Sometimes he would play loose forward but on this day he was lock. On that fateful day the scrum kept collapsing; 1st time, 2nd time, 3rd time. In a fourth scrum the ball went in but the opposition pushed hard and the scrum collapsed on top of Sikhosnke. The ball was kicked out and Sikhosnke tried to get up. “I heard a sound at the back of my neck and couldn’t move. I passed out and after about ten minutes I woke up on a stretcher”. His brother, who was there to watch the game, saw that he couldn’t move but there was nothing that anybody could do to help Sikhosnke as there was no ambulance, no paramedics and no neck brace. The coach had asked about this lack of emergency services before the game but the game went ahead regardless. After Sikhosnke’s injury the match was stopped and his brother went to call their mother.
He was taken to Livingstone Hospital Casualty department, a government hospital, on the back of a bakkie only to discover that there was no casualty doctor available. There was only one doctor on duty and he was in the wards. Sikhosnke waited for two hours for the doctor to come down from the wards and as he says, “the pain was killing me”. They sent him for x-rays and decided to put his neck in traction and he was kept in overnight. The next day his mother came to visit him and thought he was going to die. He was sent to ICU and the Gladiator’s president and vice-president (Chester) came to see him. They have never been back since!
After 27 days in ICU he was taken to a ward where he met Gail Ross from the Chris Burger Fund. She brought him a good mattress, made contact with Rob Campbell and organised for Sikhosnke to be moved to Aurora Hospital in Port Elizabeth.
Sikhosnke is philosophical. “After the incident I didn’t ask why or blame God. Did this happen for a reason? I have learnt so many things. If you are in a wheelchair you can’t survive, but there are people who care and love you”. He is also full of praise for Aurora Hospital and the staff there. “Aurora is a very special place and I am very happy to be here. The carers are very careful and know how to take care of you, and also the physios and the OTs do their job properly and they make sure you don’t worry too much or sit alone. I want to mention two special guys from the physio department who are very special, Andile and Nceba. They always help me.”
At the end of August Sikhosnke went home to his mom’s RDP house. Fortunately there are no stairs but there is also no bathroom and the toilet is outside.
Rolling contacted Gail Ross from the Chris Burger Fund:
“I visited Sikhosnke at Livingstone Hospital together with our Eastern Cape regional representative on the 7th May to meet with him and his mother to discuss the role that the Fund would play in their lives.
As is customary with all our hospital visits we took a bag of goodies, snacks, toiletries etc.
We then arranged with the very kind and generous support of Dr Rob Campbell and Aurora Hospital to have him admitted to Aurora for 16 weeks of intensive rehabilitation. This was done free of charge and according to a special arrangement that we have with Aurora and QASA. The only cost to us was to finance his monthly medication which was approved for a period of 4 months.
We have approved the purchase of all the equipment that has been recommended by the team at Aurora. This equipment will be a specifically sized and appropriate powered wheelchair (plus a manual backup chair), a special high tech wheelchair cushion, a commode, and a pressure-relieving mattress. A hospital bed will also be looked at depending on his home space. Any home access adjustments will also be made once recommendations are received.
We will always assist with the maintenance and replacement of his equipment indefinitely and any other needs will be considered based on what he wishes to do from here onwards. Should the family require financial assistance in the form of a monthly subsistence, this will also be looked at based on their present income.”
BokSmart
Sikhosnke’s case is not an isolated one. In the four weeks prior to his injury five other players fell victim to this popular South African Sport.
Lihle Ntsepe, a 24 year old club player, and two 17 year old school boys, Uhuru Joyi and Adriaan Naude, died of their injuries. Charlton de Klerk (30) broke his neck in a league game and is now a quadriplegic and ten year old Willem Jacobs suffered a brain haemorrhage but it is hoped that he will fully recover.
Recent statistics at www.sarugby.co.za/boksmart/pdf/table.pdf) paint a glum picture. With the 2009 season not yet over the number of serious and catastrophic injuries have already surpassed those of the 2008 season, with fully half of the deaths and injuries occuring in school’s rugby.
In July SA Rugby (in conjunction with the Chris Burger/ Petro Jackson Players’ Fund and sponsored by ABSA) launched its National Rugby Safety Program, BokSmart, aimed at reducing the number of serious and catastrophic head, neck and spinal injuries associated with the game.
BokSmart intends to provide the rugby community with the knowledge and skills needed to ensure safety and best practice principles in the game and will roll out over the next 18 months.
Thirty-seven Cape referees recently became the first match officials to be accredited by BokSmart.
BokSmart Spineline – 0800 678 678 –is a toll-free emergency helpline, linked to ER24, to accelerate emergency treatment and management of injured rugby players. A wealth of game and safety information is also available on their website: www.boksmart.com
