New leg offers comfort for learner

With a new prosthetic leg, 13-year-old Kaylib Timm is living life to the fullest after losing a portion of his right leg due to a malignant cell that developed into a tumour.

The plastic on the upper piece of his old leg broke while running and would tear his skin. Through a school initiative, the Jumping Kids Prosthetic Fund donated a new leg and Kaylib is now able to play with his mates without any discomfort.

“It’s much better. It’s a bit strenuous having new muscles that weren’t working for two to three years. Now they are working like it’s a normal leg,” he said.

The Western Ext resident was diagnosed with stage three Erwing’s sarcoma that started in the bottom bone and then jumped to the bone marrow.

He had to attend chemotherapy for 12 months. Within five months of his treatment, his family received the devastating news that would change Kaylib’s life forever.

According to Kaylib’s father, Dean, the cancer was severe and his leg had to be amputated or else it would spread to his lungs and thus lose his life within weeks.

“The cancer hadn’t completely died. It was still quite close to his knee so they had to remove his leg from above his knee. It was terrible for us,” said Dean.

When Dean broke the news to Kaylib, his response touched the whole family.

“He cried at first but he completely blew us away with his strength and acceptance of his situation. He said to me, ‘Dad it is fine. They can take my leg. I want to live’.

“For a youngster to be able to say things like that is incredible,” said Dean.

The family went through a lot of turmoil but through their faith, they remained positive. This gave Kaylib the strength and confidence to accept his situation.

“As a parent, to see your child running around without any problems is amazing. Once you learn he has to lose more than half of his leg, is extremely heartbreaking.

“It was tough for me to accept. I was upset at the time. But I would rather have my son lose a portion of his limb than his life,” Dean added.

It took Kaylib about four years to heal. Although this might have cost him his childhood, his positive outlook on life can help motivate people in similar situations.

“Always believe in God. Pray to God and you will get through it. It’s going to be tough but you must always trust in Him. You will eventually get through it,” Kaylib said.

Due to his recovery, he had to stay at home for two years. At the beginning of the year, he was enrolled at Easy Learning Tutor Centre and that’s when his old leg began hurting him.

“It started tearing and causing him a lot of harm on his thigh. Because he was growing, the thigh grew out of the prosthesis. He couldn’t play, walk properly and do things other learners did,” said school principal Safeera Cassim.

Kaylib went back to using crutches. Still, he faced lots of challenges.

“As a school, we found him a donor who assisted with a prosthetic leg. We are glad our efforts and empathy did not go in vain. We are glad we were able to help Kaylib regain his strength and confidence and to also play with other learners here at school,” added Safeera.

An emotional Dean thanked the school for their help.

“We are over the moon and appreciative of what they’ve done. If it wasn’t for them, my son would still be hopping around with a leg and causing damage to himself. They’ve done so much for us.”

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