Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 119, June 2019 | Page 71

MULTISPORT
In April I completed my first Ironman in Port Elizabeth, after being in a coma following a car accident on the 26th January
2014. I am dedicating this article to my dear friend Albert James Kinnear, who passed away that day while we were travelling
to the Fast One Cycle Race in Meyerton. – BY JAMES LANG
I
don’t remember much about the accident. I was
driving my Opel Corsa with Albie in the passenger
seat, and we were both excited to be on our way to go
and watch his son Joshua and our elite women’s cycling
team participate in their first races of their new teams
respectively. We were in the usual Sunday convoy of
early morning racers near the Engine Blockhouse on the
R59 highway when we were hit by a drunk driver.
Fortunately, I am unable to recall the accident, so I am
not sure whether the other driver approached from
the off-ramp against traffic, or crossed over the island
between the dual carriageway. Unfortunately, Albie
was declared dead on the scene.
I am grateful to the cycling community that assisted
us on the scene. From reviewing the ambulance
reports, the accident occurred around 5:30, and
after being removed from the vehicle and stabilised, I
arrived at the Union Hospital in Alberton around 7:15
and was rushed into the ICU trauma unit. After arrival
I became comatose, and I was in a coma for five
days due to cerebral oedema, on a ventilator due to
sustaining a right contused lung and being unable to
breathe on my own.
The other injuries that I sustained were a right orbital
blowout fracture (four fractures to the right eye
socket), a broken left elbow, three fractured toes on
the left foot, and fractured transverse processes of
L1 & L2. While I was in ICU, I contracted a methicillin-
resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection in
my injured elbow, which has resulted in me having
arthritis in the elbow. I also sustained a frontal lobe
traumatic brain injury, with some cognitive and
behavioural related issues, including short-term
memory loss, impulsiveness and anger.
FIGHTING SPIRIT
One of the first recollections when waking from the
coma and seeing my family, was them describing
me as a fighter. I was extremely aggressive while in
the coma, and had to be constrained, so they were
obviously relieved that I had come around. I have
ingrained those words into my consciousness, that
I am a fighter. At the time, though, I didn’t know the
fight in front of me. I have transferred that fighting
spirit into my triathlon training. Unfortunately, there
are some challenges around my fighting behaviour as
a result of my brain injury, which I am still battling to
fully overcome.
I remained in the ICU ward for a few days, where I
was extremely frustrated at not being able to walk,
and the fight to get physically well had already started
in earnest. I was discharged from hospital after about
10 days – well, I basically told my trauma surgeon to
discharge me – but I was back in hospital a day later
after falling and landing on my broken elbow, as I was
stubbornly determined to walk. It took me a further
two to three weeks before I could walk again unaided.
I was referred to a neuropsychologist to determine
any issues as a result of my brain injury, and I was
then put onto a rehab programme. I had also just
started a new job in May 2014, which the medical
team were against, as they felt I wouldn’t cope. I did
experience a two-month period of brain fatigue as a
result of my brain recovery.
One of my
personal
post-accident
mottos is,
“How bad
do you want
this?”
Due to the MRSA infection, I ended up in hospital
for a further 70 days in 2014, from having the elbow
wound and infection scraped, to being treated by
orthopaedic surgeon Prof. Lautenbach. The Prof, who
was 80 years old at the time, used his Lautenbach
procedure to inject antibiotics into the wound and
then drain the wound, which led to another three
weeks of hospital boredom. Today I am unable to
straighten my elbow, but it is fully functional, and I
think that I look like a natural swimmer on my left side,
as my elbow is naturally bent!
DESIRE TO RUN AGAIN
I had started cycling in 2009 after being overweight,
and really enjoyed it, but I gave up cycling after a
friend asked me to train with him to complete the
2011 Two Oceans Marathon, which I finished with
just three minutes to spare! I decided to carry on with
running, and in 2012 I improved my Oceans time by
26 minutes. My goal was then to complete Comrades.
After failing to finish the 2012 Comrades, I signed
up with a running coach and started to improve
dramatically.
After the accident, I was eager to run again, but the
Prof told me I should rather play golf, and at the time I
accepted the news that maybe my running was over.
After being advised on how I could look after my three
fractured toes, my podiatrist encouraged me to see
Prof. Saragas, a world-renowned foot orthopaedic
surgeon, and I finally got the go ahead to run again
in March 2015. Once the foot doctor told me that I
could run as long as there is no pain, my mind shifted
and I was immediately more positive. I have always
believed that I am a strong runner and now I wanted
to prove to myself that I could still improve.
My running was initially very slow, and my running gait
seemed to have been impacted by the accident, so
I decided to see a sports doctor, who referred me to
a biokineticist, but I decided to rather see a personal
trainer who was also an experienced runner, and
began running up to 10km. I saw the trainer for more
than two years, and ran during this period while the
focus was on my studies. I did end up seeing a bio as
well, as my balance and gait weren’t great, and they
were both surprised at my improvement during this
period.
In 2015 I resumed studying my B.Sc. Degree through
Unisa, of which I still had two thirds to complete,
and so my exercise took a back seat. My short term
memory seemed to be a challenge when trying to
remember the volume of information that I had to
study. I turned it around by not focusing on this
negative aspect, but I had to work hard. Fortunately,
most of the subjects were enjoyable, and I had a
maths tutor for three of my subjects, which definitely
helped. I duly completed my degree in 2017, and
while it was a huge accomplishment, given my
accident, I was actually more excited that I could be
fully focussed on my running again!
COACHING EXPERTISE
It was at my cycling club’s awards dinner in December
2017 that I spoke to Zunaid Receipt about his
triathlon coach, Lucie Zelenkova of Trifactri, and his
own triathlon performances. Zunaid has always been
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