Shaninlea’s talk show set to inspire
Shaninlea shares these stories of overcoming hardships to show people that anything is possible and to always remain strong.
Quadruple amputee and former Pennington local, Shaninlea Visser, has launched a new talk show and short documentary on her traumatic life experience faced in 2017, in hopes that her story inspires and motivates others.
Shaninlea’s documentary and episode one of her talk show, The Shan Show, which was released last week, has been filmed by Warren Bleksley and Greg Nefdt of Alfacam and Blade Studios, a highly reputable film crew which has produced shows such as The Voice SA and Survivor SA.
On January 15 of 2017, Shaninlea was bitten by a mongoose, and little did she know something like this would change her life forever.
Two days after getting bitten and while attending her daughter’s school function, she fell ill and fainted.
Shaninlea was then rushed to hospital and on January 18, she ended up in ICU and was put on a ventilator and induced coma.
She was diagnosed with sepsis and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and while in the coma, her organs started shutting down and her body wasn’t responding to any treatment or antibiotics.
On January 26, Shaninlea’s condition improved slightly and although her white blood cells started to build, there was already too much damage done to her body and having those severely infected body parts amputated was Shaninlea’s only chance at survival.
In February that year, Shaninlea had both her legs amputated below the knees, both arms amputated below the elbow and had to have facial reconstruction after losing her nose, lips, part of her top jaw and eight top teeth.
She has endured up to 70 procedures for the facial reconstruction so far.
Communities near and far have united over the years and helped raise funds towards Shaninlea’s medical bills and other expenses.
Even though her life-threatening experience has made her go through a rollercoaster of emotions, she still stays strong and embraces each day with positivity.
Her friends and family added that she gets through her days because of her great sense of humour, too.
While Shaninlea has shown herself to the world as an inspiration and walking miracle, her talk show aims at amplifying that with the help of others who have also dealt with ordeals that changed their lives.
In the first episode of The Shan Show, Shaninlea interviews Costa Carastavrakis, a man who went from being a crystal meth addict to a successful author, comedian, actor, and motivational speaker.
Viewers can expect a variety of diverse guests to follow in later episodes which includes an swimmer who lost her leg at the age of two, a media personality who battles Lupus daily, as well as a woman who has survived rare disease, Myasthenia Gravis.
Shaninlea shares these stories of overcoming hardships to show people that anything is possible and to always remain strong.
The short documentary and first episode of The Shan Show was screened at The Copperlake Bar and Grill in Broadacres and can be accessed on the Facebook page: Shan Living Life or on the Alfastream SA YouTube channel.
Should anyone wish to reach out to Shaninlea or one of her guests or make donations, contact tam@tamarynnicholson.co.za.
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