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  • 1 day ago
Allen Zweifeln Zum Trotz 2022
Transcript
00:00:00Here we go.
00:00:42Come on.
00:01:20I asked the same question that I asked six years ago.
00:01:26Why me?
00:01:30But in a different sense now.
00:01:35So you chose this spot so I can actually look at the distance.
00:02:09Ready to rumble.
00:02:10So you chose this spot so I can actually look at the distance.
00:02:51I don't know.
00:03:21I don't know.
00:03:49I don't know.
00:04:34I don't know.
00:05:03I don't know.
00:05:07I don't know.
00:05:17I don't know.
00:05:25I don't know.
00:05:31I don't know.
00:06:24I don't know.
00:06:26I don't know.
00:06:34I don't know.
00:06:51I don't know.
00:07:02I don't know.
00:07:10I don't know.
00:07:12I don't know.
00:07:13I don't know.
00:07:15I don't know.
00:07:18I don't know.
00:07:49I don't know.
00:08:07I don't know.
00:08:18I don't know.
00:08:26I don't know.
00:08:33I don't know.
00:08:42I don't know.
00:08:53I don't know.
00:09:10I don't know.
00:09:12I don't know.
00:09:16I don't know.
00:09:21I don't know.
00:09:24I don't know.
00:09:25I don't know.
00:09:27I don't know.
00:09:30I don't know.
00:09:31I don't know.
00:09:45I don't know.
00:09:48I don't know.
00:09:49I don't know.
00:10:57He said to me, next year I'm going to be in the first team.
00:11:01I said, listen, yeah, it's still tough because it's only the grade 12s normally that end up in the first
00:11:06team.
00:11:06It was a big school in Himansdorp.
00:11:09The rugby is at a good level.
00:11:11He put his head down to things and he would start training, exercising.
00:11:18The next year he played first team.
00:11:23He was very driven, focused on rugby.
00:11:25It was a big part of his life back then.
00:11:28He would always exercise, German's part of it.
00:11:31He can't do something this weekend.
00:11:33There's a game coming up.
00:11:34He cancelled on quite a lot of plans because they're playing the morning.
00:11:39Can't do something Friday.
00:11:40Very focused on that.
00:11:41But that's him.
00:11:43He has always, when he put his mind to it, you won't get him to change it.
00:11:49You know, and I've learned over the years, leave him, he's heading the right direction.
00:11:57His father promoted his sport a lot.
00:12:02He was also the one that always supported me at my rugby games.
00:12:06So when I used to play, I always used to look out for him next to the field.
00:12:12Rugby, cricket, whatever sport he wanted to partake in, he was always 100% behind him.
00:12:20You know, I always say he's like one of my best friends.
00:12:22There's a really tight bond between me and my dad.
00:12:43Sit, sit, sit.
00:12:47Sit.
00:12:50Sit.
00:12:52Sit.
00:13:00Something that I love to do in my off time is just, it can be anything where I go outside.
00:13:07I really love spending time in nature.
00:13:10So I'm not someone that loves to sit at home and watch movies or series.
00:13:15I'd farm or just go outside, take my dogs with, go for a walk.
00:13:21So that's something that's really close to my heart.
00:13:27Following on his year after completing his schools, he did the one year at Sharks Academy that did him really
00:13:35well.
00:13:36He then went to Stellenbosch to study.
00:13:46When I got to Stellenbosch, coming from the Sharks Academy, you've built up quite an ego.
00:13:53And when I got there, I thought I'm going to get a royal invite to play for Martis.
00:13:59I went through first year, all the while I was, I was waiting for this call or someone to say,
00:14:07you must come and practice with Martis.
00:14:09But that just never happened.
00:14:11One day I just actually packed up my training kit and I went to practice.
00:14:16And I just fell in line and I just started training with him.
00:14:19Because I thought, you know what, if I'm not good enough, then they'll just let me go.
00:14:31So the last time that I was up on this mountain, it's probably a good seven, seven years ago.
00:14:42Being back on this mountain, it's very nostalgic.
00:14:46It really brings back good memories for me.
00:14:53I really enjoyed playing rugby.
00:14:55I really loved my sport here.
00:14:58And it's almost like that love really grew in Stellenbosch.
00:15:02That's kind of where the fire got reignited.
00:15:05And coming back here, I'm just reliving all of that emotion, all of that feeling that I have being back
00:15:12in this town.
00:15:21All right.
00:15:22All the time was always very humble, good-mannered, always on time.
00:15:28Determined, hardworking, but a very serious kid.
00:15:33I wouldn't say that Alvane in the beginning stood out in the position that he plays because
00:15:38South Africa is quite renowned to have very, very good loose forwards.
00:15:49But what I do remember is that it was very hard.
00:15:54He really put his body on the line.
00:16:00What I can remember from playing with Alvane is that he was a very physical guy, big in
00:16:07stature, quite a bulky guy and a very fit guy.
00:16:12A hell of a pleasure to play with that guy because he's always supportive on the rugby
00:16:16field.
00:16:17Very, very intelligent rugby player, which meant that he had a very big asset in playing
00:16:24for the rugby team Pakistan-Washington.
00:16:31Playing first team for Marties and getting on that field, that was everything that you
00:16:38ever wanted at that age.
00:16:39You couldn't wait for the week just to get past quick enough so you can get back on that
00:16:45pitch and play rugby.
00:16:48Getting there was quite the journey, it's quite the process and it's so rewarding.
00:16:53You know, it took me four years just to move up through these ranks and get there.
00:17:06When I look at the field, I really feel, you know, a sense of a journey, a really long and
00:17:11hard
00:17:11journey to get there.
00:17:13It's almost like climbing a mountain.
00:17:14It's so rewarding when you get to the top and you just look over everything.
00:17:31I was studying engineering and that was quite stressful for me.
00:17:35You know, balancing a very demanding engineering course and then also playing for Marties, which
00:17:42is also quite demanding, lots of training times.
00:17:44And then in that time I developed kind of like a stomach ulcer.
00:17:50The doctors discovered that he's got ulcerative colitis.
00:17:54Which is like small ulcers inside of your thick intestine or your colon.
00:17:59Which is quite dangerous if you leave it untreated, it could turn into cancer.
00:18:05Made me sick for probably around six months.
00:18:08I couldn't do any sports and I had to go out of residence and basically my whole life just
00:18:15stopped.
00:18:16Everything just stopped completely.
00:18:19So eventually the decision was made to remove his whole colon and they did a reconstruction
00:18:25of his small intestine to help work as the colon function.
00:18:31But that was horrendously painful and a long, long recovery period.
00:18:38I got the word from the doctor that you'll never have a normal life again in terms of like
00:18:44a bowel routine and all these things.
00:18:46At the age of 21 you don't want to hear that.
00:18:48Went through six months of rehabilitation, getting used to this new life.
00:18:55life essentially.
00:18:57And that was just a very difficult time for me.
00:19:03His second year at Varsity, the next thing that I heard that he is playing rugby again.
00:19:09I started to feel good again and healthy.
00:19:12I started training again.
00:19:14And I felt healthy enough to go back and play rugby.
00:19:17The interesting part is the doctors, the specialists thereafter, whenever a patient had to go through
00:19:25those operations, they were referred to Alvang as an example.
00:19:31But look at this man.
00:19:32He did the operations and today he's playing rugby again.
00:19:37It's almost like, I'll show you what's possible and what's impossible.
00:19:42That you can't tell me what I can do and can't do in that sense.
00:19:46It was just mind blowing that he can just overcome it and just do it, you know.
00:19:54And that was my first taste of defying the impossible.
00:20:26So we come here about twice a week to
00:20:30swim in the cold water over here in Cape Town.
00:20:36And the other four times a week, I usually just swim in the swimming pool, but you need
00:20:41this cold water exposure if you're going to do an event like I'm going to do in a few
00:20:47days time.
00:20:49The date isn't confirmed yet, so we still don't know when it is, but this cold water exposure
00:20:56is extremely important for swimming because with all the movement.
00:21:03So every time I go swimming, I put on these, these leg splints and all it basically does
00:21:09is just keep my legs straight because that's the one thing I can't do while swimming.
00:21:17When I swam here for the first time, I just jumped in the water.
00:21:20I didn't know about thermal gear or like a thermal wetsuit or anything.
00:21:24And I remember swimming like one mile around the island and I came back, I was so disorientated
00:21:30and confused and that was like borderline hypothermia.
00:21:34So this thermal gear is going to make a big difference.
00:21:37If I can just keep my head warm, then my core temperature will stay, you know, stay warm
00:21:41throughout the whole event as well.
00:21:45It counts like one, two, three.
00:21:48Okay.
00:21:49Okay.
00:21:50No, like one, two, three.
00:21:52One, two, three.
00:21:56Okay.
00:21:57Okay.
00:22:07Fresh.
00:22:08It's good, fresh.
00:22:11You sure you still want to do the opening of this room?
00:22:13Oh, yes.
00:22:25Oh, yes.
00:22:59Oh, that was good.
00:23:12When I swim, I just keep on imagining how it's going to be when I do the Robben Island crossing.
00:23:18Water is water, eh?
00:23:20So it just all feels the same, trying to get that familiar feeling in my mind when I'm actually doing
00:23:26it.
00:23:29With not knowing when the event's going to be, it's almost like in training you keep on holding back.
00:23:35Because you want to save yourself, you want to save your body for when it's actually going to happen.
00:23:40You don't want to tie yourself in training.
00:23:43But the reality is you can keep on doing that for two weeks and then you'll lose fitness.
00:23:49So it's a fine balance between pushing and training mentally, but also saving and reserving yourself for that actual day.
00:24:01I'll be ready for it. It'll happen exactly when it should happen.
00:24:05I have this picture in my mind how it's going to be and I just keep on reliving that picture.
00:24:09Like, just as I said, when I swim, I try and imagine how it is on that day that I'm
00:24:15going to do it.
00:24:16And at some point, my faith and my belief will start, you know, merging with the reality.
00:24:31I'm going to show that.
00:24:33I'm going to walk that way.
00:24:37Okay.
00:24:40Okay.
00:24:41See you.
00:24:42Hey!
00:24:43Hey!
00:24:45I need help!
00:24:46Help me!
00:24:47Why?
00:24:48Guys, come on!
00:24:50Come on!
00:25:05So when I was finished studying, I went and worked with my dad.
00:25:10Getting experience for going into the fruit industry.
00:25:15And while I was doing that, I also played rugby for Helderberg Rugby Club, which is in Somerset West.
00:25:21We actually played against Martis one day and it was in Stellenbosch, in the famous Donny Craven stadium.
00:25:28It was a big build-up to that game because we, the previous year, we played for Martis, so it
00:25:34was kind of a grudge game for us.
00:25:37And I got injured in that game, ironically.
00:25:39The scores were actually level at halftime.
00:25:44Alvijn came on the field and he hit a rock.
00:25:47And as I was lying on the ground, my arm was stretched out and someone came with their knee and
00:25:53fell directly on their shoulder.
00:25:56The pain was excruciating.
00:25:58But basically what happened, I tore the muscles from my pec and my bicep tore completely out of my shoulder.
00:26:06That was the first injury I ever had in rugby, the first serious injury I ever had.
00:26:11It took two reconstructive operations to fix that.
00:26:16And at that stage, that's when I knew, okay, I think I'm finished with rugby now.
00:26:20I'm just going to focus on my career and building my life from there.
00:26:27He started working for my company.
00:26:33He came to visit during the December holidays.
00:26:42I got a text from the girl I was seeing at the time.
00:26:46And we had plans to spend the weekend together.
00:26:49But impulsively, we actually decided to go through that night to where she lived.
00:26:56He left late afternoon and more or less an hour later, a man called me and he said to me,
00:27:05Do you have a son, Alvijn?
00:27:07I said, yes.
00:27:09What about?
00:27:10He said, well, he's been hurt in an accident.
00:27:17So I remember on the way there, I was driving, I was a bit of a hurry and I was
00:27:22skipping music on my phone.
00:27:24And I put it down on the middle console of the car and it just slipped down to the passenger
00:27:29side's feet.
00:27:30I took my eyes off the road because I reached down for my phone and I just wanted to pick
00:27:34it up off the floor.
00:27:35But in that moment, the roads are very narrow there and there's no yellow line section to drive in.
00:27:40And at that time, I was only driving about 70 to 80 kilometers per hour.
00:27:46So really not fast.
00:27:48But my left front wheel left the road and it hit some gravel.
00:27:54And I got a fright when that happened and I jerked the steering wheel.
00:27:58Before I knew it, I didn't have control over my car anymore.
00:28:02It swerved over the road to the right first.
00:28:05And then I plucked the steering wheel again, trying to compensate for this.
00:28:09But at that stage, I could already feel that I have no control over the car.
00:28:14It just had too much momentum.
00:28:16And then I remember going through the thoughts, going through my mind that I'm going to have a car accident
00:28:22now.
00:28:23And I knew it was going to be bad because I knew I was heading for a tree and there
00:28:28was also a concrete slab next to the side of the road.
00:28:33And I just remember my car heading towards that.
00:28:37My safety belt wasn't on because I had a sling on my shoulder from that rugby injury, which is not
00:28:42an excuse.
00:28:43But I wasn't wearing a safety belt.
00:28:46And then I remember going towards the passenger window.
00:28:50And it's such a vivid memory that the ground is coming closer.
00:28:56And then I realized that the car is not on its four wheels anymore.
00:28:59That the car is flipping.
00:29:01There's a sound that I'll never forget.
00:29:03It's the screeching of the tires of the car leaving the road.
00:29:08And then just a dead silence.
00:29:14And I saw the ground coming closer.
00:29:18Then I just heard this big, loud crash.
00:29:36I went face first through the passenger window.
00:29:41I cracked my neck.
00:29:45And I woke up next to the side of the road.
00:29:49There was someone touching my shoulder.
00:29:51And his first words were, who should I call?
00:29:57I was actually on my way to take a walk with the dogs that afternoon.
00:30:03So I still had my sandals on, shorts, t-shirt.
00:30:07And the call came through.
00:30:09And he already at that point in time conveyed to me, he did call the ambulance.
00:30:15They're on their way.
00:30:16I tried to get up, but I just felt this immense pain in my back and my legs were ice
00:30:23cold that I couldn't get up.
00:30:24At first I just thought it was shock that I'm unable to stand and I'm just in shock.
00:30:30But I knew something was seriously wrong, so I just lay still.
00:30:33He was able to tell me, okay, the ambulance are there.
00:30:37They've arrived and they're busy stabilizing him and they're taking him to the hospital.
00:30:48He didn't actually say where he was from or what he was doing there.
00:30:53He told me his name was Hosea.
00:30:56And I had to look what it means.
00:30:57And Hosea means he saves and he helps.
00:31:01And that's exactly what he did on that day.
00:31:04Did you have any contact with him afterwards?
00:31:07I saw him once afterwards in rehabilitation.
00:31:11He came, he checked in on me, see if everything was okay.
00:31:15And then I didn't see him again.
00:31:34He came, he kicked in on me, see if everything was okay.
00:31:40He came, he jumped on me, see if everything's okay.
00:31:55I am going to go, see if everything's fine.
00:32:00He came, he's done, he just came.
00:32:03so I'm just gonna pick up my mom now and we haven't seen each other in you know
00:32:10over a year so I'm very excited about this
00:32:24hello
00:32:30surprise
00:32:31yeah
00:32:33oh man you have to come, I can't hold it
00:32:35no
00:32:38I can't hold it
00:32:42you don't want to hold it
00:32:44you don't want to hold it
00:32:46hello
00:32:46hello
00:32:47how are you?
00:32:50oh
00:32:51oh
00:32:52oh
00:32:53oh
00:32:53oh
00:32:54oh
00:32:56yeah
00:32:56oh
00:32:58oh
00:33:00I knew she was gonna cry
00:33:01oh
00:33:02oh
00:33:02oh
00:33:02no it was very good
00:33:05yeah it's good to see her
00:33:06yeah it's always difficult because their house is like a three-story house
00:33:11and it's not that accessible for me to get there
00:33:19it's always difficult you know and also I'm obviously busy they are busy and it's not just
00:33:24a quick drive to see each other so yeah it's quite special
00:33:38the next morning I woke up I was so confused I didn't know what happened or where I am what
00:33:46the date is
00:33:47who's around me
00:33:48the first thought that I had was I lost my legs so I reached down but I felt my legs
00:33:54were still there
00:33:55and that really confused me
00:34:00he was bruised and blue
00:34:03he just saw this broken body lying on the bed
00:34:10he was very scared because then soon they had to do an operation on his back to fuse his vertebrae
00:34:20I knew
00:34:22I knew something was seriously wrong but it's almost like no one said it
00:34:26no one spoke about it
00:34:29and I just couldn't understand what's going on
00:34:33I actually asked the doctor please can we just sit down and discuss this you know what what is the
00:34:39extent of the injury
00:34:40and at that point in time you you still think okay it's a bad accident but the operation went well
00:34:50I just broke my back it's can't be that serious
00:34:54I asked the specialist that did the operation that difficult question
00:35:02is my son going to be able to walk again
00:35:08in my mind I thought I was going to get an operation and I'm going to rehabilitate and I'm going
00:35:14to walk out of there
00:35:15that was my belief
00:35:17and I had to deal with that reality that
00:35:21they don't know if I'll ever be able to walk again
00:35:26at that moment life stops
00:35:31it becomes unreal
00:35:35this is a dream
00:35:36it's not real
00:35:39your whole world is turned upside down
00:35:41it's like you're caught up in a nightmare and you don't want to face the realities
00:35:48you struggle with this thing in your head you have a son at an age of 25 and he's paralyzed
00:35:59and what now
00:36:03he was very very scared
00:36:06you didn't know what was going to happen to him
00:36:13he never sort of asked us please feel sorry for me or anything
00:36:18he was he just wanted his family to be there with him and not leave him alone
00:36:23he was afraid very afraid
00:36:30it's quite funny when I look back at the photos of the accident I went through the passenger window
00:36:36no other door or window could open or was broken
00:36:40but I ended up on the driver's side of the car
00:36:46you know 30-40 meters into a field
00:36:48in a fetal position
00:36:50so just looking back at these photos a day or two afterwards
00:36:55just trying to wrap my mind around it like how did I even survive this?
00:37:00how is this possible?
00:37:02because the car flipped head over toe
00:37:04tumbled a few times
00:37:05and I fell out on impact
00:37:09there's no way that I should be alive
00:37:13and anyone that sees the photos will tell you that
00:37:16there is no way that you should be here
00:37:26what you ready?
00:37:46oh wait
00:37:47you have come in?
00:37:48you come in?
00:37:50Hey Stefan, no good. Can't complain. What's up?
00:37:57Okay, so we've got a little bit of a situation. I got a message from Derek Frazier.
00:38:05Okay. So you know we've been back and forth, you know.
00:38:09Then the swim is going to happen, then it's not going to happen.
00:38:11Yeah. Kind of used to a spy now.
00:38:15Yeah, I know. I mean, I don't want you to go out and, you know, and then be disappointed.
00:38:23But listen to this and then we'll take it from there.
00:38:30Guys, it's out at Robben Island this morning and it's 13.6.
00:38:34It's not going to be warm enough for Elvane.
00:38:38I've got no idea whether it's going to warm up properly tomorrow.
00:38:40You guys are welcome to come out, take a chance, but if it's 13.6 when he starts,
00:38:48I'm certainly going to recommend that he doesn't start.
00:38:50I don't think that it's warm enough for him.
00:38:55Sure. Hmm.
00:39:00I don't know what you want to do.
00:39:05Well, I didn't come this far to stop right now.
00:39:11I want to go and stare this giant in the eye.
00:39:16I need to go there.
00:39:20At that point, during that news, things happened very fast because he was released from hospital and went to rehab.
00:39:29It's an in-house rehabilitation program, which is really just building the foundation of what then has to take place
00:39:37afterwards.
00:39:38When I first went in there, I thought it was actually to get me walking again, rehabilitate me.
00:39:44And I had the belief that I'm going to walk out of there.
00:39:47So the spinal cord is a bit like a plug on a kettle and the cord.
00:39:51So the plug going into the wall into your electrical outlet is your brain.
00:39:58The cord taking the current to the kettle to make it boil is your spinal cord.
00:40:04And the spinal cord obviously is covered by a series of coverings to protect the nerves,
00:40:11like the protective covering on an electrical cable.
00:40:16So if you were to get a heavy, sharp object and drop it on your cable,
00:40:21the cable would be damaged and your kettle wouldn't work.
00:40:24And that's much the same with spinal cord injuries.
00:40:26In Alvane's case, T8 is a sort of mid chest area, eighth thoracic vertebra.
00:40:37Basically, a spinal cord function ceases to produce any connection between brain and spinal cord.
00:40:44So from mid chest, there is no preserved motor function and no preserved sensation at all.
00:41:01As an inpatient in rehabilitation, you usually stay anything between four and eight weeks.
00:41:08Obviously, it takes a bit of time to adapt and to learn how to become independent in a wheelchair.
00:41:15There are therapists that help you with the physical stuff.
00:41:19There is also someone that helps you on the mental side of things.
00:41:23But as stubborn as I am, I didn't want anything to do with that.
00:41:28I just didn't want to accept what happened.
00:41:32The thing with paraplegia is that a lot of it is between the ears.
00:41:40You know, a patient once said to me, and I'll never forget this.
00:41:46When you have a spinal cord injury, you'll never accept the fact that you can't walk again.
00:41:52But you have to learn to live with it.
00:41:57As I came to the end of my stay there, which was a few months, I realized that it's only
00:42:04to equip you to live a life in a wheelchair.
00:42:06To teach you how to get dressed, how to sit up straight, how to do basic life things again.
00:42:13Because soon after your accident, you're not even able to sit up straight.
00:42:17Because you don't have the core muscles, you don't have the balance.
00:42:19Your whole equilibrium is thrown off.
00:42:23So even the most basic tasks like putting on pants is difficult.
00:42:31When I was in rehabilitation, there were, you know, friends, family every single day.
00:42:38He was daily swamped by so many people standing outside of his room at visiting hours to come and say
00:42:46hello and see him.
00:42:48I kind of had to tell them some days, I need some time alone now.
00:42:53That's when, you know, depression, anxiety is kind of hiding behind the scenes.
00:43:00The day I went home, everyone went back to work.
00:43:04My friends went back to university, all their jobs.
00:43:07That's when it took a hold of me.
00:43:09Because then all the filters were down and all the walls were down.
00:43:13And it was just me and my own thoughts.
00:43:16And that's when it really gripped me.
00:43:21I just thought I'm just going to end it.
00:43:25Why do I have to wake up every day with a struggle?
00:43:29Every single day I used to relive the accident.
00:43:32I used to go to bed looking at photos.
00:43:34I was so stuck in the past.
00:43:37That was all that was consuming my mind every single day.
00:43:41I just saw the wheelchair.
00:43:43That's all that I saw.
00:43:44I didn't see any possibilities.
00:43:54I love hunting and I had a lot of rifles.
00:43:57I thought one day while I was cleaning my guns, I'm just going to end it.
00:44:06I can just take this pistol and just end it right here.
00:44:14Until I had a moment when, when God actually told me, but I still have plans with you.
00:44:21And that really gripped me because I thought, but how can you still have plans for me?
00:44:27The thoughts went through my mind that.
00:44:30So if I look at, look at my life, if I look back on it right now, what are people
00:44:34going to remember?
00:44:35What is the story that my life is going to tell?
00:44:39That I was this good sportsman, successful at school, university.
00:44:46Then I had the accident and I couldn't deal with it.
00:44:50I couldn't move past that.
00:44:53And something just ticked inside of me that I can't, I can't let this end there.
00:44:59I can't let that be the story.
00:45:04And that's when I started writing a new story.
00:45:07A story that, that I want people to remember.
00:45:12You know, a story of redemption, a story of resurrection, getting out of that situation.
00:45:20And I think during that time, he started making up his mind that I'm not going to sit back.
00:45:31This is what happened to me and I'm going to sort it out from here.
00:45:38This is not a handicap, it's just a condition.
00:45:41This is not a handicap, it's all about it.
00:45:47This is not a handicap, it's a handicap, but it's like the handicap.
00:45:52Now let's go to my level.
00:45:52Game on, take a look at this.
00:45:54It's a handicap.
00:45:56My eyes.
00:45:56It's a handicap.
00:46:01It's a handicap.
00:46:03It's after I got my eyes.
00:46:07It's a handicap.
00:46:28Soon after his discharge from Aurora, we got him his car, got him changed for mobility.
00:46:43That is kind of where the journey started to get independent again.
00:46:49And once I got driving and I can go on places on my own again, that was amazing.
00:46:55That was just incredible.
00:46:58I discovered this whole new life that laid in front of me.
00:47:04And when I slowly but surely discovered these new things that I can do, I'm not even talking
00:47:09about para-sport, I'm just talking about getting back to life again.
00:47:15Doing things with my friends and being able to enjoy, you know, going out with my dog
00:47:20and in the mountains and stuff.
00:47:22I got a new lease online.
00:47:35The wheelchair is never really, it's not something you notice during the day.
00:47:40That's not something that ever gets in his way, it's not something that's a problem.
00:47:53I'm sure he's aware of the wheelchair.
00:47:56It never seems that it bothers him in his daily life.
00:48:01I mean, it's such an extension of him.
00:48:03Like, he also, he speaks about it in the way that he gets it.
00:48:06He's with it every day.
00:48:07It's sort of like an extra limb that he's used to having.
00:48:12It has certain limitations to it, but it's part of his life now.
00:48:16So I don't think it's in his way.
00:48:31Through this whole depression slump and getting back into life a bit, it gave me the mental
00:48:38edge that if I can overcome paralysis, then what else can I do?
00:48:50I then ended up getting a hand cycle, which a friend and I built from a few parts that
00:48:58we got from a friend of mine, professional hand cyclist and wheelchair racer, Adam van
00:49:04Dijk, one of the best in the world.
00:49:07And he gave me this hand cycle, but I had to adapt it first.
00:49:11So we made a hand cycle that was suitable for me, and then the bug bit me about cycling.
00:49:20It's an adrenaline rush, there's speed involved, and it's extremely hard.
00:49:26Once I got into cycling, I started swimming, figuring out how to swim without the use of my legs.
00:49:43The first day I met Alvijn on pool deck, he put his suit on and I was like, Alvijn, you
00:49:51know, we need to get in the pool, otherwise we're not going to finish the session.
00:49:55And he's like, yo, but I need to put my wetsuit on and my cap and goggles.
00:49:59And it took some time, and I realized if we're swimming for an hour, it needs to be an hour
00:50:03and a half.
00:50:12I had a look at him and I just said, go for length, let me see what you can do.
00:50:17And he swam and I was like, okay, there's some serious work to be done here, if we want to
00:50:22achieve what his dreams are.
00:50:27I said to him, Alvijn, you know, it's going to take a lot of commitment.
00:50:31And he said, well, anything you need, what do I need to do? Can we do this?
00:50:36I took him for some stroke correction. I think that was our basis point of starting is just really focusing
00:50:42on technique.
00:50:44I got him to swim more efficiently and then starting to introduce him to a little bit more longer swims,
00:50:50shorter intervals, the rest period, you know, aerobic phase, anaerobic phase, some sprint work.
00:50:59And I've seen Alvijn change so much. It's fantastic to see.
00:51:05He had a really big block to conquer in this past, I want to say a month to two months
00:51:11before this crossing.
00:51:19One day we went out to Signal Hill, just overlooking the ocean, the sunset.
00:51:28And we started talking about the Robben Island because you can see it from there.
00:51:33And the vast distance to Eden on the Bay, to Bloberg.
00:51:38And then someone spoke about, yeah, but people actually swim it.
00:51:41And my first reaction was, it's crazy.
00:51:46It's just crazy because if you look at the distance, it's, it's incredible.
00:51:52But there's something about an event or a challenge, if it scares me enough or it's so big.
00:52:00And I always ask myself, is it possible?
00:52:03Can I do this?
00:52:04And then I started researching and finding out more about it.
00:52:09No paraplegic has done it before.
00:52:11And that excited me, that really, really got me excited.
00:52:15That you have a chance to make history.
00:52:18And I started training for this beast of an event.
00:52:55I'm waiting for you, though.
00:52:56What do you mean?
00:53:01I'm, how have you been by the 18 best cousins.
00:53:03How do you think that this event starts?
00:53:0415 years later.
00:53:07How do you think that's a parfait problem?
00:53:08At the edge of that plains, I've taken a lot of responsibility.
00:53:08What do you doing do?
00:53:09When do you think that's nice?
00:53:09At the end.
00:54:18And how do you feel about today? This is the big, the big day.
00:54:24This is it.
00:54:25I'm planning back now.
00:54:28I don't know, it's interesting. I wouldn't say I'm nervous, but there is some anticipation.
00:54:38But I think once I get in the water and I get swimming, because you know, before it's people, it's
00:54:45cameras, it's mics, it's everything.
00:54:49But when you put your face in that water, it's dead silence.
00:55:04This is a bit tiring.
00:55:57Okay, let's go.
00:56:28Okay.
00:56:32So, let's go.
00:56:39Okay.
00:56:47Okay.
00:56:56So, let's go.
00:57:07The next couple of hours.
00:57:11Yeah, good.
00:57:14How do you feel?
00:57:16Yeah, it's all done now.
00:57:24Yes, but the weather is perfect.
00:57:26It's on point. If it's colder outside, the water temperature is warmer, the wind's not blowing, absolutely perfect.
00:57:32This is going to be epic day.
00:57:36Okay.
00:57:38It's here. You're here. We're all here. Let's do it.
00:57:42Finally.
00:57:44Spiritually, the preparation was quite big.
00:57:46I knew I had to pray a lot about this event.
00:57:51Pray for the weather, pray for the conditions, pray for the crew coming with me.
00:57:56With an event like this, you have the mercy of nature and the circumstances.
00:58:01And there are so many moving parts.
00:58:03It's not just me showing up on the day.
00:58:05There are so many things that need to go right.
00:58:12We gather today in front of you, Lord, on this brisk, cool morning, Father, where we know that we are
00:58:19in your hands, Lord.
00:58:21I'm a little bit worried about him swimming the crossing, especially for all the stuff we can't predict.
00:58:26Water temperature, you know, what the wind is doing, that type of thing.
00:58:31Are we going in the right direction?
00:58:33It's not in our hands. It's not in Alvan's hands. It's not in my hands.
00:58:36And so we need to trust the process and trust the people that's on the boat leading him into the
00:58:41right direction.
00:58:48So having any spinal cord injury severely impacts your capacity to exercise.
00:58:55For example, in a swim like this, he wouldn't be able to kick.
00:58:59So he's not able to propel his body forward, which creates a lot of power in swimming.
00:59:05He wouldn't have his core muscles to keep his legs afloat.
00:59:09So he's going to have a lot more resistance with a drag behind him and then has a current pushing
00:59:14against him.
00:59:18When it comes to cold water and swimming, you know, the Robben Island swim,
00:59:25we're talking probably about 13, 14, maybe tops, 17 degrees.
00:59:30That's pretty cold water.
00:59:33He's more susceptible than an able-bodied person in terms of becoming hypothermic.
00:59:38And that he needs to be very aware of and consider.
00:59:54I think when it gets to that stage where it gets serious,
01:00:00there will be protocols in place to try and test some stuff to know if he, at that stage,
01:00:07is going into hypothermia or not.
01:00:11If we start getting to a feeling where our brains can't handle the cold anymore,
01:00:16then we cancel the swim and we do it on a different day.
01:00:20But I don't think it's a thing that concerns me at this stage.
01:00:23I think he should be, he should be fine.
01:00:30We slide it on a bit, so not until then.
01:00:35I'll get someisance.
01:00:54I think we're good, y'all.
01:01:04I'm going to keep you close to the boat,
01:01:06one and a half meters, two meters max.
01:01:11It might be a bit big, just try it,
01:01:13otherwise come across from here and drop them really close.
01:01:27I'm really happy with the water temperature, this is amazing, did you test it?
01:01:33I have measured it, yeah, I won't tell you but I'm happy, okay cool, you guys ready, we can go,
01:01:40let's do this.
01:02:03So in the beginning of the swim, when I jumped in the water,
01:02:08I immediately got a bit of a wake-up call because of the cold
01:02:12and I haven't been in such cold water in about a week or so.
01:02:20When I started to swim, it was of course a fear of what's underneath me.
01:02:26You know, for the first hundred meters or so, I saw some sand below me and some kelp
01:02:32and then it just started getting dark and you just look into this abyss.
01:02:43I remember for the first 30 minutes, I got a bit overwhelmed because of the current
01:02:51and there's always the fear that, is it going to get worse?
01:02:54And when I encountered that in the first 30 minutes, I really thought I'm in for a long day.
01:03:01I remember just, it was going through my mind, just get through the first 30 minutes
01:03:06and you can have a break and you can have something to eat, something to drink
01:03:10and you can just, you know, recuperate a little bit and have a chat to my coach.
01:03:20I think so long, stroke improved so much, we're actually swimming much faster than we thought.
01:03:26So things are going really, really fast.
01:03:29I guess we're swimming well under two minutes, eh?
01:03:32So really, really, really fast.
01:03:34I'm probably 3.2 k's an hour now.
01:03:38Two minutes is 3 k's an hour.
01:03:40So he's probably going at 1.55 to 100 per hour.
01:03:48That stop that I had after 30 minutes, that was about after 1.5 k's.
01:03:53But I thought I was going to have a bit of a breather, just exchange a word or two.
01:03:57But it was literally a few seconds.
01:03:59I just had time to drink something.
01:04:03In my mind, I told myself, just get to the halfway mark
01:04:06and then reassess your strategy.
01:04:08Are you going to swim faster, slower?
01:04:12I think around 2, 2.5 k's.
01:04:15That's about an hour of swimming.
01:04:17I just looked at my watch and from then on, time really went by slowly.
01:04:22It really, it felt like I stood still.
01:04:25That's obviously when the current really picked up.
01:04:32I really hit a wall there, mentally.
01:04:35Because then I started counting down the meters to the end.
01:04:40Very vaguely started seeing the land in my mind.
01:04:44I thought, okay, it's close.
01:04:45It's only, you know, 2.5 to 3 k's left.
01:04:48I've done that many times before.
01:04:50That's a swim set, not even.
01:04:53And that's a mistake that I made.
01:04:57So I think we're getting to the point now
01:05:00where it actually becomes the most difficult part
01:05:03because he's kind of, I guess, about two thirds of the way now.
01:05:09And I know from previously chatting to Alvain,
01:05:12this is kind of the bit where he starts struggling a bit mentally
01:05:17because you're starting to see that you're almost there,
01:05:20but you're not yet there.
01:05:25Your brain protects you the whole time.
01:05:28So when you're doing an ultra distance event,
01:05:31so like an ultra marathon or something,
01:05:33it's constantly telling you, you know,
01:05:35don't push it too hard.
01:05:36Don't push it too hard.
01:05:37You might die.
01:05:39And then when you start getting closer to the end,
01:05:42so when he gets closer to the end here,
01:05:46you basically override that and you're like,
01:05:49okay, well, I'm almost there.
01:05:50So now I can suddenly sprint,
01:05:52which physiologically makes no sense
01:05:54because you shouldn't be able to suddenly just sprint,
01:05:56but your brain takes over and it's like,
01:05:59okay, you're almost there.
01:06:00You're not going to die.
01:06:00You can do this.
01:06:02So it'll be interesting to see if that happens.
01:06:04Yeah.
01:06:13I was extremely tired mentally.
01:06:19You know, you are so close,
01:06:21but it's just like, it's not coming any closer.
01:06:30Around 5K, 6Ks.
01:06:32I really struggled.
01:06:35And that's when I started having some serious conversation.
01:06:38in my mind about fighting for what I've worked for.
01:06:45And I really had to fight for it.
01:06:46I really, really had to work hard at that point
01:06:49because you're tired and the current is just pushing you so hard.
01:06:57But there was never a thought that I was not going to finish,
01:07:00that I wasn't going to make it.
01:07:02It was almost like I just, I would not accept it.
01:07:06There's just no way that I'm going to allow this to not happen.
01:07:11After waiting all this time,
01:07:12and I felt the weight of those two years just hanging on me.
01:07:15Actually, in the past six years,
01:07:17in that one moment,
01:07:19that it all came down to that one moment.
01:07:29And when you feel that weight
01:07:32of everything that you've worked for,
01:07:34all the struggle, all the pain,
01:07:36it's almost like I saw everything in front of my eyes.
01:07:39And there was just no way that I'm giving that up.
01:07:41There's no way that I'm letting that moment go.
01:08:12You something you could do now?
01:08:13Yes!
01:08:19Well done, all the way!
01:08:48Oh
01:09:00Oh
01:09:31I was I was so thirsty that lost okay, and it's way back then I have to crawl
01:09:39On the boat what was they doing on the boat
01:09:41You know before doing the swim I thought everything is coming together for this
01:09:50event
01:09:51But then after doing it and seeing what has happened and
01:09:56You know all the support and everything
01:10:00It's just the beginning and there is so much left in me and this is just firing me up for
01:10:07For everything that the Lord is going to ask me to do next
01:10:21A few years after his accident it was probably me be my my biggest concern
01:10:29Will he be okay in life whatever we've dreamt about is has been ripped away it's changed
01:10:41Will he be okay?
01:10:50Today I look at him differently
01:10:55He is he's writing his own future and his own history and he's fine. I
01:11:03Don't need to worry about him
01:11:06He's good
01:11:23See you in a few days time
01:11:25I've used you it
01:11:28I
01:11:45Don't need to worry about him
01:11:47I
01:11:47Don't need to worry about him
01:11:47I
01:11:47Don't need to worry about him
01:11:51You're a change
01:11:54You're a change
01:11:55Sorry
01:12:00We love you the way you are
01:12:04You're an inspiration to us
01:12:06And you deep deep in all our hearts
01:12:09Just stay there
01:12:12We love you
01:12:16To come back to that book
01:12:20You write your story, you write your book
01:12:25I want my book to be an extraordinary book
01:12:29And this is only a chapter in that book
01:13:11film by
01:13:13If you can hear me, I beg you to steer me, with a dream so bold, it stirs me to
01:13:23the core, allow me to break free, freedom for all to see, looking for the brightest sun, where everyone is
01:13:35free to run.
01:13:37As I ride into the future, and leave the past behind, I wanna break free, to be the perfect me,
01:13:56what seems impossible, a hard stop about, the brightest star.
01:14:06In the darkest night, the author of the story, I write, the story I write.
01:14:27I write, the story I write, the story I write.
01:14:42I write.
01:14:43The story I write.
01:14:48You
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