Antoinelle Hartze

In the tiny town of Worcester, South Africa lives a female dentist with a knack for turning frowns upside down.

She paints, she dances, she cooks and still has time to take care of her daughter, her husband and their two dogs. She’s also an Össur ambassador since 2010.

But things haven’t always been easy for Antoinelle. In 1996 during her first semester at dental school, a train accident changed the course of her life. In the blink of an eye her whole world had been turned upside down “I woke up without a leg and was forced to just accept it.”

“My advice to every amputee, new or old, is to speak and walk freely. Let nothing hold you back.”

Antoinelle Hartze

The experience had a dramatic impact on her sense of self and future perspectives but not one to shy away from a challenge, Antoinelle mustered up the courage to find a way back to her feet, and only a year later she resumed her dental studies.

Attending university for the first time is already a challenge for any 20-year-old but this coupled with the loss of her leg meant that she had to dig deep within herself.

It was a lonely period, both physically and emotionally challenging. “You want to fit in and don’t want to stand out. But you also realise that it’s important to just be yourself”.

Her body had to make major adjustments to accommodate her limb loss. Muscles ached and she experienced tremendous back pain. Her first prosthesis was uncomfortable and rudimentary. “It was the most basic of legs, my knee was practically an elastic band!”

Antoinelle immersed herself in her studies and in time she began to accept the situation more and this made her very independent. In 2001 she qualified and decided to take up a new challenge – opening her own business.

With the support of her family and friends Dr Antoinelle S. Hartze set up her own business in July 2003 and became one of the first female dentists in her region. “Being a woman and of colour in a predominantly male lead industry, it took a lot of courage to face my peers and overcome my fears”. Twenty years later and her business is going strong and now some of her early critics have become her most loyal customers.

Pursuing a career in dentistry gave her the focal point she needed but she always felt that something was missing. In 25 years she had never come in contact with any other amputees. “I didn’t know any amputees. I wasn’t active on social media so had no point of reference for what an amputee should look like or how they should behave”.

This changed in 2019 when she joined the Össur Mobility Clinic. For the first time in her life, she came face-to-face with like-minded, heroic amputees living life without limitations on a daily basis. Inspired by these stories of accomplishment and struggle, Antoinelle’s confidence grew, and she embraced a whole new way of living. “From there things just changed, I wasn’t hiding it anymore” She began to pursue her passions like art, cooking, and dancing and with an upgrade to her prosthesis, managed to take on challenges she considered unimaginable before. Now she proudly shows her legs and wears a Rheo knee XC with Proflex align “For the first time in 20 years I can wear heals…I’m even wearing them in the garden!”

With 2022 into its stride, Antoinelle has moved into a new chapter in her life. Her Rheo leg has played a pivotal part in this transformation as it continuously adapts to her environment and gives her the confidence to take on new challenges. One challenge is creating a master painting, something that requires hours on one’s feet. “Art has always been close to my heart, it gives me a sense of peace and spiritual connection”. Inspired by the work of Dutch artist Tjalf Sparnaay she set out the capture the essence of her own creative vision. Containers, plants, buckets…mundane objects that some might find uninteresting are imbued with a new sense of beauty. She has exhibited her work in several galleries and is currently creating a new body of work.

She loves her career and the independence it brings. “I don’t like being dependent on people, I love the freedom that comes with being my own boss” She believes that people are much more open with their dentist, it’s a relationship built on trust.

“There is so much more to restoring a smile than just making the teeth white.”

Her work helps to restore confidence and inner joy. It’s truly transformative.

Antoinelle is grateful for the challenges that life has given her. She honors the past and welcomes the future with open arms. Her hope is to encourage more women to follow their passion and not become intimidated by social prejudices about gender or disability. “My advice to every amputee, new or old, is to speak and walk freely. Let nothing hold you back.”

Antoinelle’s boundless energy and a deep hunger to constantly evolve has led her into new and exciting pastures.