adminBulawayo Bureau
A 15-year-old boy Lovemore Munashe Mavushe from Bulawayo’s Tshabalala suburb whose leg was amputated in 2019, celebrated his birthday belatedly on Independence Day.
Lovemore, a Form Two student at Mpopoma High School who wants to be an orthopaedic surgeon, someone who is devoted to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disorders of the bones, joints, ligaments, tendons and muscles, said having a disability had never been a stumbling block for him to achieve anything in his life as he did everything that his ‘able-bodied’ peers were doing in their lives.
While at his home celebrating his birthday, Lovemore said even though he was born on April 13, he decided to celebrate his birthday on Independence Day as the prosthetic leg he now uses, had given him his own kind of freedom.
He said he was 10 years when he told his mother he wanted his leg to be amputated because he was tired of the pain he was going through.
With an amputated right leg and walking with aid of crutches, in 2021, Lovemore defied all odds when he came first in a 5km race at Maphisa Primary School in Sizinda.
“I don’t remember much of my childhood and the day l hurt myself, but my memory only takes me as far as somewhere in 2017 to 2018 when my leg was getting rotten daily and l would see the bones now coming out,” he said.
“My mother used to try by all means to make sure my leg got better and l was not amputated, but because this is how it was supposed to be l knew l had to let go of the leg and l asked her to let the doctors remove it. His mother, Ms Emerenzian Shumba, said her son was born with both legs, but had his right leg amputated in 2019 following a freak accident which still saddens her.
Online Reporter