Twenty-year-old Corwin Henning’s first day of work turned into tragedy when a motorist crashed into his motorcycle at the corner of Grobler and Joubert Street in Louis Trichardt last Thursday.

According to Henning, who was taking his lunch break, the motorist was entering the intersection as he was passing through it on his motorcycle. The motorist crashed into him head-on, sending him flying through the air.

"It was truly painful. I´ve broken my shoulder before, but it felt nothing like this," Henning said.

He remembers breathing into a paramedic´s oxygen mask at the accident scene before he was rushed to the Zoutpansberg Private Hospital for surgery on his broken right leg.

The surgeon, Dr Tsaka Kganakga, comes to Louis Trichardt just once a month to treat patients in the area. Luckily for Henning, Dr Kganakga was in town the same day as the accident.

A one-hour surgery reset Henning´s broken tibia and fibula. As a result, he will likely be on crutches for six to 12 weeks, but full healing will take much longer. Henning anticipates a healing period of five to six months before he will be able to return to his work at De Graaf Undercar.

He was discharged from the hospital on Saturday evening, just two days after the accident, to return to his home on AFB Makhado.

Without Dr. Kganakga´s presence at the private hospital, Henning would have likely been taken an hour south to a Polokwane hospital for surgery.

His motorbike escaped the accident nearly unscathed, with only a dent in the fuel tank, bent shocks and a few scratches to the body. The front side of the other motorist´s four-door sedan was substantially damaged by the accident.

While Henning was at the hospital, after the surgery, his pain had gone down and he was feeling much better. He said the police had stopped by to question him briefly regarding the accident.

As one of many South Africans who live without medical insurance, Henning will be left to foot his own bill for the hospital stay, surgery and outpatient care at the private hospital.