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My name is Gert van Rensburg - in South
Africa, Gert is a male
name - from Brain Toys.
During April 1995 I was involved in a serious motor vehicle
accident,
resulting in a severe brain injury. I spent 12 days in a coma and 42 days in
the ICU. I underwent extensive tests (12 and 24 months after the accident) -
the result was that I was declared not fit to work in the open
labor
market.
I knew I had to do something to occupy my mind,
otherwise there would be no progress. I decided to sell firewood.
I was not able to drive, so had to ask someone to do my driving. I struggled to lift the bags of wood (25kg) from
the pick-up, but would not allow somebody else to off-load for me, because I
believed the only way that I could get my strength back, would be by doing it
myself.
I could also not easily calculate how much change I had to give to
customers (I refused to use a calculator). I had to sit down to calculate
the correct amount of change, because when seated there was less to
concentrate on, and I could do it.
Three and a half years after my accident I believed that I
was ready to enter the world of commerce again. I had a burning ambition to show the
world that I may be brain injured, but still could do it. I believe that we
may have lost certain skills, but if we concentrate on our strengths, we can
move forward.
I started a business with the name "Brain
Toys". The product that we developed and manufacture is a puzzle with different levels of difficulty.
The reason for the difficulty levels was to educate the public that although
we may have brain injuries, we are not stupid.
In February the "South African National Lobby Group for People with Acquired
Brain Injuries" was formed, and I was elected chairman. In May 2000 I was
elected a finalist in the South African Cosmopolitan Movers Competition.
Today, a bit more
than 5 years after my accident, I still have some deficits, but
my improvement is dramatic if you compare it to the period
directly after the accident. Hence my motto:
"No matter what your
circumstances, adversity forces you to dig deep and this can lead to the
discovery of unlimited potential."
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