Finding a new purpose

Henriette Lamprecht – She loved motorcycles since the day she can remember, already buying Bike SA magazines since the age of 8.When other girls bought dolls and toys, Jennine van Jaarsveld rather opted for magazines. She remember the first time she sat on a motorcycle, probably 4 years old and refusing to get off. “It gives me goosebumps – always have, and probably always will. Think I was born with this passion!”In 2017 Jennine won an HD 750 Street Harley at the Skeleton Coast Rally. Before this she could never afford her own “real” bike, so she only played on the bikes on the farm and smaller off-road and quad bikes, Jennine says. She admits she did however have a Honda 250 CBR at some stage, “but that does not count as a real bike!”Friends who both owned HD’s invited Jennine and her partner to the Skeleton Coast Rally, creating the opportunity to get into the “Harley Davidson scene”.“Win the bike and buy the Lifestyle!”Her love for her Harley and motorbikes were however also the catalyst of something that would mentally and physically change her life forever.It was the weekend of her birthday, and Jennine and her partner decided to go to Swakopmund with 2 friends. There were 4 bikes, her partner was riding a GS1200 and she was on her beloved Harley Davidson. It was the 6th of June 2020, the start of East Weather in Swakopmund and the wind was terrible, especially between the Usakos and Arandis stretch, she remembers.“My partner was riding in front and a very good friend behind me. My partner and I have helmets that connect via Bluetooth, and she told me that the wind was terrible. It was about 4 km before the Arandis bridge.”As Jennine pulled her feet in from the highway pegs, the wind pushed her from the side. In the attempt to lean into the wind, she could feel a wobble on her front wheel, immediately recognising it as the “Harley Death Wobble”. She tried to ride it out, but it did not work and she realised she needed to leave the road before the bridge.“I went off the road, and was heading straight for a telephone pole next to the road. My only focus at that stage was to miss the pole and then jump from the bike.” Behind the pole, however was a heap of stones which she did not notice at the time, and when she hit the stones, Jeninne lost total control of the bike.The result was the immediate amputation on impact of her right leg above the knee, breaking both her arms and wrists, her ribs, left shoulder, left scapula, severely damaging the left side of her body and left knee. “I still have blood pockets on my left side of my body and struggle with my knee. I lost about 20% of the function in my left hand as well due to nerve damage.The doctors predicted only 20% function overall in my left hand and about a year in hospital!”Although she lost her leg on impact, Jennine didn’t know it at the time. “After I came to lie still, I could not move at all. Almost everything that was left was broken, so I did not realise the impact of the accident at the time. I felt incredible pain, but thought I just broke my leg very badly.” She lost consciousness on the way to hospital, but woke just as the ambulance arrived and heard the paramedic shout during the handover to the doctor that it was an “amputation”. “The word sounded so familiar at the time, but I could not figure it out or put it in context. I had lost an enormous amount of blood and I was just in terrible pain.”The nurses at the Swakopmund Cottage Hospital were phenomenal, Jennine says, recalling how they tried to keep her awake and calm. The first memory she has after that, was when she woke up on the Monday afternoon. Her partner was with her and asked if she can remember what happened and if Jennine knew she was in an accident. She could not at the time, but she knew she lost her leg. “It must have been processed in my subconscious during my time on the ventilator and under sedation. But I knew immediately that this was my reality and I made peace with it. I was of course on a lot of pain medication and could not feel any pain at the time, so it was not bad at all….at that stage!”She has incredible support, says Jennine with her partner, friends, medical support team, family, colleagues and her employer which has been “absolutely phenomenal” in her journey. “I am thankful to be so blessed, so how can I not be able to adapt? I was blessed enough to open my eyes again, to be able to walk (to some extend) and to have another shot at life. How many people out there do not have the support structures and medical aid support, etc? How much more do I not have to be thankful for, and how much easier is my journey compared to the less privileged?”Still she would always love motorcycles and find a way to adapt it to her new way of life. Now Jennine’s motorcycle, a GS1200, has a custom built side car for until she is comfortable enough with her balance and trust the prosthesis.“I will push the limits again until I can ride on my own without support!” She thought she would be scared to get on her motorcycle again, but she was “super excited” and could not wait to get back on and back into riding.“I think this is what the accident taught me. Life is short and we do not know if we will have the privilege of seeing the next day. Embrace change, embrace life, grab every opportunity and never be scared. God will never give you a path to walk, if He did not prepare you for it. What must happen, will happen. Your reaction to what happens, is what makes the difference.”Her latest operation was much more painful than the first one, says Jennine and the decision to have her revision surgery was not an easy one, but necessary for long-term gain. Her residual limb was very long, and that impacted the area and position of her prosthetic knee to the point that it was physically painful to walk. “I opted for short-term pain in order to get long-term gain.”She already received new socket/prosthesis and the process is is to strengthen the residual limb, practice balance and get used to the feeling of the pressure in the socket – exercise, practice and patience, she explains. For her it is not so much as living out her dream, but how much she can make a difference in other people’s lives, Jennine says. “When one goes through a near-death experience, one gets to understand that the quality of life does not lie within materialistic possessions, nor achieving one’s own personal goals, but in purpose. To have a purpose and therefore an impact, no matter how big or small, is what brings joy, peace of mind and a reason to continue living.”If she can, through her actions, influence other people to continue to believe in themselves, no matter how bad the circumstances are, continuing to try, get up and move on, then she fulfilled her purpose, says Jennine.To others who is going through a similiar journey, Jennine emphasises to seek purpose, find your passion and to create a reason for yourself to move on, to continue with life.“ Your life is not over. As difficult as it sounds, and believe me, it is difficult at the best of times – try to embrace the change. Use the situation to find a new you, a new purpose and go out there and make a difference.” – Jennine.Jaarsveld@dhl.com

Finding a new purpose

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-18

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Finding a new purpose

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-18

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