[selouna-visser]

Hi DeAnn. Thanks. Disability services are very challenging in South Africa. You only get assistance from the government for the bare minimum and that is also only if you fall below a certain income level (which is also very low). Most of the time you are dependent on what financial resources you or/and your family members can get together. Sometimes crowdfunding also helps a bit for bigger expenses such as buying a new wheelchair or expensive equipment though personally, I don’t like to use this option unless I have no alternatives. It makes me feel like a charity case. I would much rather do something or sell something that would make me feel like I deserve the money. The other challenge is that there are actually very few medical personnel here who is quite knowledgeable about SMA. It is refreshing when you meet a medical personnel member who knows more than the prescribed paragraph from their textbooks.

Regarding your question about the weather. Like you said it depends on who you ask and I guess it depends on where in South Africa you live. I live in Potchefstroom in the North West province which is part of South Africa’s drier and warmer areas. We mainly get summer rain. Our summers are very warm, between 30 to 35 degrees Celcius, but when we have heat waves during the drought seasons it can easily go up to 40 degrees Celcius. It is definitely not fun anymore when the temperatures go above 35 degrees, especially when the air is very humid as well. We are also one of the places in South Africa where it can get quite cold during the winter, however, we do not get snow in Potchefstroom and normally we do not get rain in the winter. We do get freezing cold winds when there is a cold front moving through the country though. Our minimum temperatures for the evenings in the winter range between -4 and 0 degrees Celcius, though it can get much lower during cold fronts, and the average daily temperature is between 8 and 15 degrees Celcius. My favourite seasons are autumn (fall) and spring. What is your favourite season and how is the weather where you live?

I haven’t played any tunes on my recorder yet. I’m still learning to play the notes and to get my fingers on the right places at the right time. I guess my fingers aren’t as flexible as I thought :-D. How long did it take you to learn to play and what type of recorder did you play?

[selouna-visser]

Hi All. I’m sorry it took so long to introduce myself. If it isn’t work keeping me busy, it is google that is preventing me from signing into the forum. Anyway, all that is sorted now and I can finally introduce myself :-).

My name is Selouna Visser. I am 27 and I am from South Africa. I was diagnosed with SMA type 3 shortly before my 2nd birthday. I was able to walk until the age of 7 but are making use of a wheelchair permanently since 17 October 2002. I am not on any treatments for SMA but would love to investigate it in the near future.

I listen to quite a variety of music so it is difficult to pick a favourite but I listen to pop, instrumental and country the most. One of my favourite pop groups is ABBA. When I listen to instrumental music I like to listen to piano and violin and I also tend to like dramatic instrumental music like gaming music etc.

I have quite a few hobbies. I like to read novels (mostly fiction, sci-fi, paranormal and sometimes history books as well), watch movies and series on Netflix and YouTube, colouring, gardening and baking with my younger sister. I also recently got myself a recorder to challenge myself to learn to play a new instrument since I have difficulty playing the piano and guitar these days and also as a way to exercise my lungs. (I need to do lung exercises but I hate exercises if it is not fun.)

O, and I also have a pet Jack Russel. Her name is Gena and she is 61/2 years old.

[selouna-visser]

I can log in now. Thank you.

[selouna-visser]

Hi Alyssa. I am the IT manager and the BSc IT distance learning manager for the School for Computer Science and Information Systems at the North-West University. Apart from my full-time job, I am also busy with my Master’s degree in Computer Science. My goal is to submit my dissertation by July.

It is difficult to pick just one favourite country singer since I listen to a variety but Shania Twain, Elizma Theron and Juanita du Plessis are some of my favourite country singers.