Veteran politician Helen Suzman is determined to get back on her feet again unaided after a recent bad fall.
”I’m really doing very well, I think. I can’t manage without a crutch yet but I’m determined I will soon,” said Suzman on Monday.
She was at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg for the launch of the book Mandela: The Authorised Portrait, attended by former president Mandela and current president Thabo Mbeki. Suzman contributed to the book.
Suzman (88) broke her femur in a fall at her home in June.
She described her limited mobility as ”maddening” but said she was already recovering faster than doctors had predicted.
She had been told it would take her six months to get onto crutches but through ”sheer determination and lots of exercise” she did this in three and a half months.
”I’ve been using a walker. It’s only the last four days I’ve been using a crutch.”
Suzman said the biography of Mandela was ”a very all-encompassing look at his life”, which should be ready by those who wanted to be well-informed.
”I don’t think it’s as good as his own book.” — Sapa