‘I want to improve my quality of life’

Former Western Province TT6 table tennis champion is challenged by his disability and hopes to improve his quality of life.

Adriaan-Jack Booysen, 42, from Strandfontein, was born with a deformity called arthrogryposis, also known as arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (AMC), which describes a variety of conditions involving multiple joint contractures or stiffness where the range of motion of a joint is limited.

“My legs were in a criss cross position at birth, my fingers aren’t all straight as well as my spine which is not straight. Since birth I’ve undergone operations on both feet to be able to stand on my feet,” he said.

After many hospital visits for a year, at age 6 he was enrolled at Astra Special School in Montana from Grade 1 to Grade 7.

He learned to live and walk with crutches. “As I grew I got stronger and got familiar with how to use my body. I had a lot of energy as a young boy and gave people a hard time,” he said.

Mr Booysen got involved in sport and became the Western Province champion in table tennis in the TT6 category (“WATCH: Meet table tennis champion”, Plainsman, August 26, 2019). TT6 is for standing players with coordination moderately affected in the arms and legs and potentially also the body, or the absence of limbs .

He won gold at his meet in 2019 in Bloemfontein. In 2020 he became a silver medalist in the same competition.

“My body went lame when I played. My opponent didn’t realise I was crying and lame but I still won the game. The impact of my condition had me,” he said.

Mr Booysen feels that his body weakening.

“I recognised my body is in pain more often, it was new to me. My bones are progressing faster than usual. In our first year of meeting, I was strong. I could walk far and was independent. I did everything for myself,” he said.

“In 2022 we went to an orthopaedic clinic and they found that my left hip was dislocated. I went to Groote Schuur Hospital for an in depth analysis,” he said.

Groote Schuur Hospital spokesperson Alaric Jacobs confirmed Mr Booysen was treated at Groote Schuur.

“Adriaan has seen our spinal clinic and necessary care is taken to try and assist him in having less pain and discomfort. It's a rare condition with complex management decisions balancing risks and benefits. We as a hospital do our best to assist the patients in the clinic,” he said.

Sport was his heartbeat but, unfortunately, Mr Booysen said his body is not able to function as it once did.

He has worked with a panel of doctors, from a hip specialist to a spinal specialist. If he undergoes an operation for his condition he would be in theatre for eight hours and complications could occur,” said Ms Booysen.

“We went between doctors for two years only for them to tell us in November last year they have decided as a panel it’s not something they will do for him, which was sad and disappointing as we had hope,” she said.

“He wanted relief for the pain. We Googled and tried to figure it out. We will continue to figure out how to help him,” she said.

Mr Booysen, the breadwinner, now works from home for his wife and three children. He sits behind a PC and uses his phone. They’ve started a BackaBuddy campaign to help raise funds for an electrical wheelchair and medical payments. They’ve also started making food parcels and selling them to raise funds.

“Putting on his socks and pants, moving from the bed to the chair and toilet has also become challenging,” he said.

When they shop, Ms Booysen will push her husband in a wheelchair and he will push the trolley. Not all malls are disabled friendly. However, a retail worker in a Tokai supermarket helped them diligently, said Ms Booysen.

“If a man loses so much, you’ll feel depressed. Sometimes I would hold my pain back. I can see how tired my wife is and I want to spare her. I’ll never be able to be an abled-bodied person. If I don’t do something nothing will happen,” said Mr Booysen.

Josh Booysen, 20, said he has come to know Mr Booysen as a stepfather who has turned his life into success.

“He has helped our family in so many ways. Uncle Adrian is committed, wilful and charming. He has taught us so much. This campaign would not only improve his life but the entire family as we hate to see the amount of pain he faces daily. We look forward to seeing him be relieved of pain and enjoy the simple things in life,” he said.

Mr Booysen wants to make his life liveable, in a way that’s comfortable for him without help from his wife and children. He also wants to help others. “I know who I am and what I can do but I need the support of everyone,” he said.

They will be hosting sport tournaments in the coming months to continue to raise funds. For more information contact Ms Booysen via email on madierbooysen@gmail.com or call 061 543 0440 or follow their BackaBuddy page.