Despite being informed by his doctor that he has only three years to live, Springboks legend Joost van der Westhuizen has vowed to keep fighting on.
Van der Westhuizen’s immediate concern was to ensure that his insurance policies were properly arranged for the security of his children’s future.
Only last month, he received the devastating diagnosis of motor neurone disease. Nevertheless, this will not deter the iconic halfback.
”I am confronting this illness with my strong faith,” van der Westhuizen shared with a South African newspaper.
”The first thing I did was ensure my insurance policies were in place for my kids,” he noted.
”It felt like the wind was knocked out of my sails,” he expressed. ”I looked at the doctor in disbelief. I might only have three years left.”
Van der Westhuizen first realized something was amiss during a vacation with his children and friend, Dr. Henry Kelbrick.
”I struggled to use my hand, but I dismissed it,” he recounted. ”I thought it’s just an old sports injury. However, over time my speech started to deteriorate. When I spoke, people would say, ‘Joost, are you drunk?’
”Later, when I took the children to Sun City for three days, it happened again. The kids, Kellies (Kelbrick), and I played ball in the pool.
”Kellies and I began to wrestle, and that’s when he noticed something was wrong with my arm.
”The next day we talked. I asked him: ‘Can you hear that my speech is getting worse?’ He promptly referred me to a neurologist, and they conducted X-rays.
”After he informed me about my motor neurone disease, he said that doctors were uncertain on how to treat it. I went blank. I can hardly recall anything from that day… My nervous system is deteriorating.”
Despite this life-altering news, the World Cup-winning star pledged to battle the disease relentlessly.
”But I will fight this until my last breath.”
by Buford Balony
