Paraplegic from Secunda wants to record her first CD
She admits to having had tough moments and times of questioning why, but she always finds solace and comfort in music
SECUNDA – You will not easily convince Ms Lilian Odendaal (21) to perform a tearjerker song, no matter how much she loves country music.
Ms Odendaal is a positive person and prefers positive and upbeat songs that nail her audience’s attention on her voice and not her wheelchair.
“I dislike being pitied and you will never find me feeling sorry for myself.
“I am just a normal person whose legs do not work,” she explained.
Ms Odendaal often sings at Our Place and has performed at community events such as the Duck Pond’s Christmas Market, but she has only recently re-entered the world of entertainment.
“I often took part in singing contests and performed at events in the days before my accident.
“It took me a while to pluck up the courage to take up the microphone again.”
Ms Odendaal grew up in Fochville where she met her husband, Lourens.
She fell pregnant at a very young age, but the couple decided to stick it out and raise their daughter, Charmonique, who is now six-years-old and in Grade 1.
The little one was only two-years-old when the young family’s lives were irreversibly changed.
The Odendaal couple lived in Rustenburg at the time.
They were travelling home from friends on the night of 29 June 2014 when their vehicle hit a pothole and crashed.
Vertebrae in Ms Odendaal’s lower back fractured and left her paralysed.
“In the beginning I was very conscious about being in a wheelchair and of people staring at me, but I got over it.
“My friends and I will even make jokes about it.”
Ms Odendaal worked at adapting to life in a wheelchair.
She planned her wedding, continued raising her daughter and is very independent.
She loves cooking and riding quad bikes.
The Odendaals moved to Secunda in 2017.
“I learned not to allow anything to hold me back. I know that what happened to me was not God’s will.
“I know that He is able to restore what the enemy has stolen.”
She admits to having had tough moments and times of questioning, but she always finds solace and comfort in music.
Ms Odendaal is looking forward with anticipation to this year.
“I think my road accident fund court case will be finalised.
I hope to begin with the recording of a CD. My sister Nicki is already working on original songs for me to sing.
“And of course, I am always hopeful that I will walk again, especially with today’s stem cell technology.”
