Co-authored by August Freidrich Carl Schmiedeskamp Jnr and his grandmother, Elmarie Bouwer, Dare we Believe in a Life with a Purpose is the story about an ordinary family faced with some of the most challenging circumstances imaginable and persevering. It is an inspirational read that will hold particular meaning for parents with children with cerebral palsy or similar conditions due to oxygen deprivation during childbirth.
August is declared a healthy, fully developed baby at full term. Due to an umbilical cord prolapse at birth, the baby boy is starved of sufficient oxygen. After two weeks in ICU, August leaves the private ward a cerebral palsy (CP) spastic quadriplegic.
In this book, August and Elmarie recount the last two decades of their lives, during which they searched endlessly for solutions. In the process of exhausting every possible avenue to improve August’s condition, his grandmother faced many disappointments, disillusionments, rejections and humiliations but forged on undeterred. When August entered his early twenties, he hit rock bottom and fell into a deep depression. He had no desire to live any longer. It was at this low point that a religious epiphany struck him. August suddenly found the purpose of his life through faith, something that changed his life and shone a ray of hope through the pain and hopelessness.
Today, August is the CEO of one company and the MD of another. He writes poems and songs and co-authors his books. In Dare We Believe in a Life with a Purpose, he and his grandmother share their journey through the ups and downs, ambitious projects and expeditions to the furthest corners of the earth in their pursuit of attaining something of a normal life for August. August attributes this book to all his devoted loved ones who supported him unwaveringly through many years of physical and emotional pain and helped him find his life’s purpose.
There is no cure for CP, but this book shows that there are many treatments, exercises and tools that can improve the quality of life of those suffering from the condition. Of course, August’s chances were greatly improved through his family’s commitment and relentless research, which speaks volumes of a family’s love and persistence. At the back of the book is a section dedicated to the Addenda of information about what this family found to work best in CP cases, both in terms of psychological and physical support, which was crucial in giving August a chance at fulfilment and happiness.
