Teenager from the Moot embraces his disability with help
"I would wear a school blazer even on the hottest days to hide the amputation, but I am not shy about my arm anymore."
“Never ever step back because you are labelled as disabled.”
These are the words of Carl Meiring, a grade 10 learner of Rietondale high school. He was given a prosthetic arm after he was born without a part of his forearm.
Meiring received his prosthetic arm in February which has allowed him to do some basic things, for example carrying two shopping bags and to pick up a shovel to do gardening.
“It is the simple things in life that we take for granted,” he said.
“After 16 years, I was given a new outlook on life.
“I was very withdrawn and actually ashamed of my arm, but this has changed my life completely,” Meiring said.
He added that although he had to learn how to use the arm, how to put on a shirt or turn a page, “getting ready for school takes a bit longer now, but it is worth it”.
“I would wear a school blazer even on the hottest days to hide the amputation, but I am not shy about my arm anymore,” he said.
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“I am blessed with great friends who were extremely excited and happy for me.”
Meiring dreams of studying engineering and architecture.
“I take engineering, graphics and design as a subject at school. It is one of my favourite subjects.
“The designs of moving machines interest me, just like the way my prosthetic arm is designed and functions.”
A plaster cast was taken to copy the residual limb and a test fit was done to make sure it fits well. The final prosthetic socket was manufactured and then it was taken to get a custom spray job.
“The prosthesis has given me a lot of confidence,” he said.
“My message to young people like me is to embrace any form of disability and to not be ashamed.
“I am very thankful for doctor Riaan (Van der Westhuizen) and his team that made this prosthetic arm possible as we did not have the means to afford one.
“It was a dream come true as I have hoped and prayed for an opportunity to not only being able to do things differently but also to be an example to other children,” he said.
When he was younger, he had a revision operation to reshape his residual limb in the hopes of one day receiving a prosthesis.
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