Talk 30 December 2021

6 Advertising & Newsdesk: (046) 624-4356 Find us on Facebook 30 December 2021 TALK OF THE TOW N
EDITORIAL
OPINION
Hoping for
a better
year
CHEERS
Ayear ago, I wrote in this column
about what an exceptionally difficult
year 2020 had been.
Well, the same goes for this year.
We often feel we are stuck in our own
Groundhog Day at Talk of the Town, as we
encounter the same problems year after
year. Sewage spills, water shortages, illegal
dumping and misspent funds are just a few
of the issues that come up again and again.
On top of this was the global Covid-19
pandemic and the devastating economic
effects of the lockdown.
It is hard to keep a positive outlook
when bad things keep happening.
It is not like we go out of our way to find
the negative – it is all around us.
Often when someone walks in with a
complaint about something going on in
their street or neighbourhood, we groan
inwardly and think, here we go again.
But we do not stop caring. We continue
to listen to the concerns of residents and
take up these issues with the powers-thatbe.
We press for answers and hold our local
government accountable.
That is not to say we always get the
desired outcome.
Sometimes TotT’s probing sees results
and people are happy. But often nothing is
resolved and the problem keeps repeating.
At times like this, we have to be content
that our duty is accomplished in the asking,
and that we have informed the community.
If we stopped caring, we’d just pack it in
and bury our heads in the sand and pretend
everything is wonderful.
Good things are also happening, and we
report on those too. We reflect the whole
scope of what is happening in our
c o m m u n i t y.
Often the good is everyday and
expected, while the bad is magnified in
people’s perceptions because it is unsettling
and contravenes the norms of a civilised,
functional society.
If the municipality or the police are
doing their jobs, for example, is it a “good
thing” or is it just to be expected?
Why should we wonder and marvel
when speed bumps are painted or parks are
kept neat, or when criminals are arrested
and justice is served?
We want to live in a society where order
and justice are normal and any deviances
are uncommon aberrations.
So we enter another new year hoping
for an end to the pandemic, an end to the
never-ending lockdown and a return to
n o r m a l i t y.
And we hope our government at all
levels will be driven by a will to serve with
all the resources at its disposal, and not by
the self-interest of party politics.
We hope 2022 is a better year for
e ve r yo n e .
Jon Houzet
❝We want to live in a
society where order
and justice are normal
Man turns tragedy into triumph
ANDY HOFMEYR
New Port Alfred resident
Brendan O’Sullivan has a
story to tell – and a gift to give.
In November last year, O’S u l l iva n ’s
life changed in a moment, when he
broke his back in a freak accident in
Gqeberha.
His career as a film production
manager and adventure safari guide
ended abruptly. After a series of
complicated surgeries at Livingstone
Hospital, doctors told him that
recovery would be slow and he may
never have the use of one of his legs
again. O’Sullivan set out to prove
them wrong, motivated in part by the
huge number of Covid patients
around him.
Six days later, O’Sullivan checked
himself out of hospital in a wheelchair
and got a lift to a friend’s home, where
he mastered driving with his
“wo r k i n g ” foot and recovered to the
point where he felt it was time to
move on.
Unable to find pet-friendly
accommodation he drove off in his
unreliable Peugeot, in which he lived
for the next four months.
“Sleeping in a car with a broken
back isn’t really possible so I slept on a
thin mattress next to the car with my
dog Einstein keeping guard at my
s i d e ,” he said.
The “friendly city” proved less
friendly than he’d hoped so he headed
east, arriving in Port Alfred in
September this year, checking in as a
“c a r- c a m p e r ” at Medolino. New
owners, Susan and Johnny,
immediately set up a tent for him to
live in, a stretcher to sleep on and
other camping equipment.
In Port Alfred O’Sullivan realised
that he had finally discovered the
“friendly city”!
Disabled as he now was,
O’Sullivan turned to the other field in
which he was qualified; as a massage
t h e ra p i s t .
“I’d done massage therapy in the
past, dealing with stress, muscle
spasms, etc but, given my own
experience, I was driven to specialise
in injury-related therapy,” he said.
“I’d experienced a tragic accident,
felt the pain and experienced the
value of injury-specific massage. I
simply had to return the gift, so I
enrolled in a course on manual
lymphatic drainage massage,
specifically for its technique which
helps so many different ailments,
anything from migraines to cancer
p a t i e n t s .”
Embracing his disability,
O’Sullivan pivoted his existing skills
into a new career, helping people with
severe injuries and post-surgery and,
once he can afford it, plans to study an
intense course in lymphedema
massage, so he can also work in a
hospital alongside doctors treating
patients undergoing chemo or
ra d i a t i o n .
O’S u l l iva n ’s philosophy is to give
wherever he can.
While he needs to make a living,
where injured patients cannot afford
it, his healing hands work for free –
and, slowly but surely, O’Sullivan is
creating a new career in his new
home; a garden cottage with disability
access where he is treating several
patients, including a car accident
patient, a patient with a neck injury
and cluster headaches, two patients
with sciatica, others with migraines as
well as those simply in need of stressrelief.
“I know it sounds crazy but in a
way I’m grateful for my accident
inasmuch as it has given me new
insights, a new career and a new,
friendly home.
“In addition to my massage
services, I can also help anyone
needing general management or
book-keeping assistance,” he said.
● O’Sullivan can be contacted on
061-417-2255 or search “Br endan
O’Sullivan Chirapsia Massage” on
Fa c e b o o k .
FOR A FRIEND: Friends of Victor
Coetzee recently held a pool
competition and raffle fundraiser for
the young biker who was badly injured
in an accident on Southwell Road hill
month. Corne Odendaal, left, came
first in the pool competition and
received his prize from Nicole Enslin.
The fundraiser was hailed a success.
The majority of the raffle winners wish
to remain anonymous as some redonated
their prizes to others and one
of the food vouchers will be presented
to Coetzee’s family. Sponsors included
Outdoor Focus, Kowie Bunga, Royal
St Andrews Hotel, Robin Hyde, Craig
and Lesley Theunissen, Guido’s and
Guido’s Beach Bar
INSPIRED TO HELP OTHERS: After an accident which left him
disabled, Brendan O’Sullivan found a new life and vocation in Port
A l f re d
Em e rge n cy N u m b e rs
TideGuide courtesy of the South African Navy
Da t e High Lo w Da t e High Lo w
Port Alfred hospital........... (046) 604-4000
Police station..................... (046) 604-2001/2
De c 30 13 : 04 01:35 06:36 01:35
3 04 : 03 16 : 17 10 : 06 22:31 Multi-Security ................... (046) 624-2508
31 13 : 59 02 : 00 07: 37 20 : 18
4 04:46 16 : 58 10 : 50 23:12 Chubb Security ................. (046) 624-4810
Jan 1 ---- ---- ---- ----
5 05:29 17: 39 11:33 23:51 Sky Alarms ........................ (046) 624-2806
2 03 : 17 15:34 09 : 20 21:49
6 06 : 10 18:19 12:15 00:31 NSRI ................................... 082 - 990 - 5971
Electricity .......................... (046) 624-1111 (a / h )
Gardmed ............................ 0 8 2 -759 - 2 13 4
EMS (Emergency
Medical Services) ........... 10 17 7
Holistic EMS ...................... 063-460-0042
Fire Department................ (046) 624-1111