MID SOUTH COAST MAIL, MARCH 16, 2001
Well, after a few months, one would not expect many changes in a quadriplegic’s life. However, in the case of Sandy, one cannot expect to judge him by normal standards. He has been receiving treatment almost daily with the Winks Green Machine. For those of you who are not up to speed on what the Winks Green Machine is, it is a machine that discharges an electrical impulse which is connected to the body and assists the muscles by causing them to contract, and in doing so, assists mobility in what some people view as dead muscles. This machine has changed Sandy’s life and is speeding up his recovery so much that his original doctors cannot comprehend his mental and physical state. The other day I went to Sandy because I wanted to know what I should say in this report, and if he had any messages that he wanted me to put in the report. Well, after the third visit and not being able to find him as he was out on the town with his friends, I waited for over an hour. And true to form, he pitched up later with his shirt off, rocking back in his wheelchair, looking ever so cool with his sunglasses on, saying, “Hey what’s up buttercup?”
Repay
After a serious chat with him, I said, what does he want me to say. He asked me to say that he wished that one day he could repay, somehow, the people that have helped him in one way or another. He is overwhelmed by the number of people that have assisted him. He is motivated to get back out there and do something. I asked him if he wanted his computer and I could show him how to use it; his response was, “No there is a chick that will help me.” Sandy would also like to thank Sandie, who bathes him and is in charge of the aids. Rose Shipmann and Maria Cooke, the two shocking ladies (the gym instructors that shock him every day), Doreen du Preez, who sorts out his food, Trevor Cooke who is at Sandy’s beck and call day and night and last but not least, Eben and Patrick, who are his wheelchair handlers. The other day he went to Port Shepstone to visit a friend that was in the hospital with him.
Pier is in a similar predicament as Sandy, and they have learned from him and have also set up a fund for Pier. He was in hospital before Sandy and left after him. The difference between the two lads is huge. Pier has a few bad bedsores that will take a long time to heal, and in doing so, retars his recovery.
Better
Trevor Cooke who took Sandy to Port Shepstone, said what moved him most was when Sandy told Pier, “It only gets better from here.” There are two raffles doing their rounds at the moment. They are for a porcelain doll and a seafood platter from Sabastian’s. Please make an effort and get your ticket from the Sea Shell Garage or Gold Course Liquors, and make a difference in Sandy’s life.
If you would like to assist Sandy in any way, please call 039 973 1705 and we will be only too glad to send you a debit order form, or collect whatever you have for Sandy. (ED’s note: Sandy Scott Wheeler was left paralyzed when the car he was driving crashed off the N2 South in October 2000. While his is a tragic story, the aftermath has seen friends and strangers rally to help Sandy with undiminished compassion, bringing to the fore all that is finest in human nature.)
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