MALALANE – On Monday afternoon a grade seven athlete of Malelane Primary fractured his femur at the Ehlanzeni District meeting at the school after a long-jump attempt went horribly wrong.
Juan Jansen van Vuuren was still competing with a smile before a mistimed jump left him in agony. It abruptly ended his participation in the event. His fellow athletes looked on in horror as Juan landed awkwardly in the sandpit. The paramedics at the event treated him on the scene.
It became apparent that the injury was quite serious and he was then transported by ambulance to Mediclinic Nelspruit for an emergency evaluation. According to Ms Carine van der Westhuizen, media liaison for Laerskool Malelane, emergency personnel did a great job to assist Juan who sustained massive damage to the strongest bone in the human body.
“The break looked really bad and serious at first as the bone had twisted from the impact.”According to his stepfather, Mr Marc Haarhoff,
Juan was scheduled to have surgery on his femur yesterday morning and was in a stable condition at the time of going to press. “His leg was put in traction on Tuesday evening to try to get it straight,” he said.
Haarhoff was at the event when the accident occurred and supported his son through the entire ordeal. “He is in a lot of pain at the moment but he is a very strong boy and will be fine. That is the most important thing,” he told the newspaper on Tuesday evening.
Jean, who last week delivered some brilliant displays in the long jump at the interprimary, will take some time to recover from this injury and will have to put his athletics season on hold. “It is sad that he will now miss out on the rugby season as he was looking forward to it. At least he will be able to do sport afterwards.”
A plate and two screws will now be inserted in his leg while he will will also be given a hip brace to assist with walking after the surgery.
“Juan will spend three days in Mediclinic’s high-care unit and will spend another six in hospital before being discharged. The leg should take about four months to heal,” explained Haarhoff.
He also expressed his sincere gratitude for the manner in which the community has shown their full support for his son and his family. “We want to thank the Malalane community for their well wishes and assistance today. The support has been absolutely fantastic. His friends and teachers at the school have also been extremely supportive.”
