Cape Town – Two years ago Gerda du Toit lost both her legs to diabetes. For a young, active mother of two, it seemed as if her life was over.
But Du Toit refused to give up. With the help of the Christian Motorcyclists Association and the Amputees club, she was soon up and about again on a specially-made pair of prosthetic legs.
And when she heard about the work of the Kirsty Watts foundation, which raises funds to provide prosthetics for amputee children, she decided that the time had come to give something back.
Thus was born Riding for a Limb, an epic 4000km journey from Johannesburg to Cape Town and back via the Garden Route and Transkei, in the middle of winter, with the aim of raising R2 million in sponsorship, which will provide 100 prosthetic legs for children who would otherwise face life in a wheelchair or on crutches.
The bike, a 700cc Honda Integra with dual-clutch automatic transmission, was provided by Cayenne and Du Toit, who had never ridden on the road before losing her legs, had only four months to learn to ride all over again with prosthetics before beginning the journey on Monday 6 June.
Riding about 400km a day, and escorted into all major towns by the Christian Motorcyclists Association, she reached Cape Town, the approximate half-way point of the ride, by the following weekend.
Also read: 1548km for a good cause - face down!
Although visibly tired, she was in good spirits, flashing her trademark cheeky grin and posing endlessly for photographs with admirers. She said the biggest problem she’d had on the ride was not cold but gusty, unpredictable side-winds – and that the two experienced riders escorting her had battled just as badly!
When the ride is complete it will be the longest ever by a female bilateral amputee, and will be submitted to the Guinness World Records – but that’s not what it’s about. Du Toit is asking the public to sponsor her per kilometres with pledges to the Kirsty Watts Foundation, on its
The foundation is a registered non-profit organisation founded six years ago by the then 14-year-old daughter of broadcaster Derek Watts during her recovery from surgery for a brain tumour. It has already helped to fit more than 50 children with prosthetic limbs, at an average cost of R20 000 each including consultation and rehabilitation.
But, said Du Toit, the waiting list is still hundreds long; much more needs to be done. And then without any fuss, she climbed back on her bike and rode away, a quiet young woman who prefers to do her talking with her feet, even if they are made of aluminium and carbon fibre.
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