Mike De Bruyn
5 July 2009
Ryan Lok will never play competitive rugby again.
The Wynberg Boys' High sportsman sustained a freak injury to his right leg while playing for the First XV in a match against Port Elizabeth's Grey High School on Monday, on the penultimate day of the Cape Schools Week rugby festival hosted by SACS.
Lok, 18, who plays No 8, fell awkwardly on his right foot and twisted it, rupturing the main artery feeding blood to his right knee while competing for an aerial ball in a non-contact situation.
He also fractured his tibia and dislocated his knee.
Paramedics on duty rushed Lok by ambulance to Claremont Hospital where an orthopaedic surgeon made the call that emergency surgery was needed - within the hour - or risk amputation of his right leg.
The nightmare of the situation kicked in for his parents, Victor and Sharon Lok, when they were given a choice of making an immediate R100 000 down-payment before surgery could commence, or transfer him to a public hospital.
"We didn't have that kind of cash readily available," said Sharon. "We were told he needed surgery in the hour; we couldn't risk sending him to a state hospital with the strike and all, and all we were worried about was saving our son's leg."
Claremont Hospital settled on R50 000 before transferring him to Kingsbury Hospital, where he underwent an emergency five-hour operation to repair the damage. Doctors were successful in performing a bypass operation to restore the blood supply to his knee.
Lok will remain in hospital for three weeks with his leg held in place by an exo-skeleton. Medical costs incurred by Lok as of on Saturday had climbed to R100 000 and, they estimate, will come to R500 000.
Lok, who had been in fine form this season and scored nine tries, suffered the injury while attempting to charge down a clearance kick with his side attacking their opponent's try-line.
He lifted off on his left leg before coming down on his right side and twisted his foot in a divot.
Fifteen games had been played on that same field, and pitch conditions were soft and churned up on the day of Lok's injury.
"All I remember was hearing this awful popping sound, and I knew I had done some serious damage to myself," said a cheerful Lok from his hospital bed.
"It's still early days, but his future prognosis is looking better by the day," said Lok's physiotherapist, Ashraf Natha.
"Ryan's got feeling in a couple of his toes, which is a significant improvement from before the operation. The fact that he has normal movements in his arms and left leg is a big help forward when rehabilitation work begins. Whether he can get full use of his right leg at this stage is still too early to predict, but I'm happy with the results so far."
The promising first-team cricketer, who was being touted as a sure bet to play for the Western Province Under-19 team at the Coke Week after some inspiring bowling performances last season, which included a career-best 7/11 against Paarl Boys' High, was surprisingly upbeat about the road ahead.
"Life has got to go on," he said. "It was a freak accident and I hold no grudges. It happened from a non-contact situation.
"It was a normal scrum five metres out, it wheeled and broke away. I jumped up to block their flyhalf's kick, missed, and fell down into a hole, I think, and heard a pop. I remember feeling I had movement in my arms and legs and that made me feel (really) good, but I knew I had broken something, how serious, at the time, I wasn't sure."
It was a cruel piece of luck for the Lok family who were to fly to Thailand on Thursday to celebrate Sharon's 50th birthday.
Now they're praying for a refund on their tickets, to cover the mounting medical costs.
"We don't have medical insurance," said Victor. "Who is going to help cover the bills at this stage?"
An approach by the Lok family to SACS to help out financially has brought little joy, with an unnamed source at the school saying, "Insurance costs of covering all the players involved at Cape Schools Week would have run into thousands of rands".
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