A local store takes time every evening to celebrate a differently-abled resident in what has become his highlight of every day.
Brett Nash (14 years old) is a Johannesburg resident who was born on the 14th Jan 2004. Brett has lived his entire life with a clinically undiagnosed rare disease but between a whole group of clever doctors, they’ve acknowledged that one of his conditions is something called Distal Arthrogryposis.
“Distal arthrogryposis is a disorder characterized by joint deformities (contractures) that restrict movement in the hands and feet. The characteristic features of this condition include permanently bent fingers and toes (camptodactyly), overlapping fingers, and a hand deformity in which all of the fingers are angled outward toward the fifth finger (ulnar deviation). Clubfoot, which is an inward- and upward-turning foot, is also commonly seen with Distal Arthrogryposis.”
But this is just one of his conditions. Brett is also non-verbal so spends a lot of his time humming or singing a tune.
“He is absolutely the happiest child I have ever known and has music in his head 24/7. There are so many thing he loves! He is also obsessed with balls and lives for the 25th of Dec – as he is crazy about Father Christmas” – Brett’s mom, Tammy Nash, explains.
Tammy can’t really pin point exactly how the Spar shopping routine started but believes that it happened a little over 5 years ago and every evening since then, it has become the highlight of Brett’s day.
“He is always singing a tune as he is pretty much non-verbal and I think the one evening it just happened to be the tune to the National Anthem and it just got picked up from there.”
Every night is different. Sometimes it’s just two employees and sometimes it’s up to twenty, all depending on what time in the evening the family get there and which staff are on duty for that shift.
And every evening it starts as they walk in at the cooked food counter… before they’ve made it into the actual store, the staff at the Spar come find Brett and take him to pack bags or sort shelves or just hang out.
“He used to sit on the big cleaning machines and ride around on them but he is too big now so he now helps push them. It’s his ultimate if our full family of 4 are with him but with a sister in matric and a mum freaking out more than the sister about the work in matric, it’s often just the boys (Dad and Brett) that go.”
Tammy shared a video to show all her friends and family what goes on at the Spar Retail Crossing every evening, and even though it may be Brett’s highlight of his day, we think this may be a highlight for you too. One that shows such a beautiful side to South Africans and our love for each other.
“To all the staff at Spar Retail Crossing – thank you for everything you do for our boy. To all the customers that are so patient, warm, loving and understanding with him – thank you!!!
And to the customers who love to spoil him (tonight he got a Yogi Sip from a customer – not the 1st time this lovely guy has bought Brett something), thank you for being one of the many heroes that come into our lives!”
Watch the video below:
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