Johannesburg - Trips in and out of the hospital did not discourage Finlay Leask (18) from ensuring that he gives his best towards the 2022 matric exams, even after being diagnosed with a paralysing disease.
Leask, a brave learner at De la Salle Holy Cross College in Johannesburg, has become a symbol of bravery in his school after facing a spine infection that saw him spending a great deal of time in hospitals and having to undergo various medical procedures during the busy matric year.
On April 9, near the end of the first term, Leask complained of lower back pain. It very quickly became severe. He was training hard for the SA School canoe sprint championships at the time, which were to be held in the Western Cape at the end of April.
This was the selection event for the junior world sprint kayak championships to be held in Hungary in September.
He saw a sports orthopaedic surgeon and had his first MRI scan, which revealed that he had an infection in his spine. The harsh reality of missing the SA championships and thus being ineligible for selection for the world championships dawned on him.
He returned home with painkillers and a referral for physiotherapy. However, the pain increased in intensity and was completely incapacitating and unbearable.
After several emergency room visits, he was seen by a neurosurgeon, and a second MRI was done. This revealed that it was not a slipped disc but an infection of the intervertebral disc and adjoining two vertebrae.
According to Leask, the experience taught him that every moment in life is important. He said he could have chosen to feel sorry for himself and lie dead, but he chose to keep it moving.
"What I learned is that procrastination is the enemy of progress, so I had to study and I have to make the best of the situation," he said.
Leask said he eventually wrote his final exams physically, but his body had not gotten back to its normal self.
"It’s only this year that I am starting to feel better and that some of the effects are going, but it was a struggle, and I thank my mother, who was always there for me," he said.
Leask said he had applied to study aeronautical engineering at Wits University. He said it was his dream to be involved in the creation of flights and other aeronautic forms of transportation.
"I hope my results allow me to continue because they had provisionally accepted me; this is the one thing I have always wanted to do," he said.
Leask said he had inspired some people who were in the hospital with him not to give up on their dreams even though they meet challenges in life.
"I think people were surprised at my attitude, but I knew that I had two choices: accept it and make the best of the situation, or fight it and lose the battle," he said.
The Star
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