Welcome back Miracle Mark Cayuex!

17 Apr, 2016 - 00:04 0 Views
Welcome back Miracle Mark Cayuex! Mark Cayuex!

The Sunday Mail

Tinashe Kusema and Lawson Madzivanyika
MARK CAYUEX never thought he would walk again, let alone play golf, after a road accident left him with serious head and leg injuries and battling for life.
It was touch and go.
However, six years and more than 20 operations later, Cayuex took to the Royal Harare Golf Club greens last week to take part in the Golden Pilsener Zimbabwe Open.
“I am here just to enjoy myself and soak in the moment; I am making my official comeback on the Sunshine Tour in January next year.
“I want to assess my progress, considering the fact I have lost some yards in my stroke play. The next couple of months will then be crucial as the main aim will then be to perfect my game before I return to the tour,” said the 38-year-old.
Cayuex’s journey back to the golf course has been a struggle.
“2010 to now, yes, it been a long road, a tough road. Lots of operations, lots of recovery time, but also a lot to reflect on. I am just glad to be back,” he said.
His is a story of hope and sheer determination.
Before the life-changing accident near Ngundu, the world seemed was his for the taking. With nine Sunshine tour victories in the bag and two more on the European Challenge Tour, many had already anointed Cayuex as heir apparent to Nick Price’s crown as Zimbabwean golf royalty.
With his last crown coming in 2008 at the Nashua Masters, he came agonisingly close to adding yet another piece of silverware to his trophy cabinet at the 2010 edition Golden Pilsner Zimbabwe Open.
Cayuex managed a third place finish, as Jbe’ Kruger took the crown while Jaco van Zyl came in second.
And then the world darkened.
“Miracle Mark” was involved in a head-on car crash near Ngundu Halt in Masvingo as he was travelling to Beitbridge.
The details of the crash read: A police truck hit a cow, swerved onto the oncoming lane and smashed head on into Cayeux’s car head on. The policeman driving the truck died on the spot while Cayuex barely escaped with his life. With his right knee shattered and most of his left leg fragmented, doctors said he would never walk again.
“I was diagnosed with post-traumatic depression and while I initially refused to see a psychologist, I had to swallow my pride and see a ‘shrink’ to deal with mental health issues.
“I had to take some pills to deal with the mental part of my injuries and undergo about 27 operations, spread over three years, on my legs,” he said.
He also had to shorten his right leg by about three centimeters.
Asked about the secret to his recovery, Cayuex said: “I wouldn’t be here without a sound family structure and good friends to lend me support through the years and rehab. “The doctors told me that, there was the possibility that I would never walk again, let alone play golf. However, I set myself a set of goals and decided to take each day as it comes.
“One needs a positive outlook to deal with injuries like these and I simply told myself that there are people who have had far worse injuries than these and recovered.
“I then had to push myself to the limits and try as best as I could to recover and play golf again,” he said.
Welcome back Mark Cayuex!

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