GEORGE NEWS - Eden Lions Club has stepped in to help Frik du Preez (37), the father of two young boys, whose life is dependent on regular dialysis after he was diagnosed with renal failure in November last year.
The Lions will be funding his dialysis treatments at Fresenius Kidney and Dialysis Centre up until February next year when his medical aid payments will kick in.
According to Eden Lions president Carl van Blerk, they became aware of the family's predicament through an article published in the George Herald.
The newspaper reported on how Du Preez's wife, Lodyn, has had to step in as the sole breadwinner of the family because he is not able to work full-time.
The Fresenius Kidney and Dialysis Centre kindly offered a lower treatment rate and it was also decided to reduce Du Preez's treatments to twice instead of three times a week to bring down the cost. However, this had started to take its toll.
Du Preez was thankful for the kind gesture of the club. He said it will help with their efforts to make ends meet. They had had to pay cash for every treatment.
According to state health regulations, Du Preez does not qualify for free dialysis at the George Hospital because of an earlier diagnosis of a blood disease (leukaemia) for which he has been receiving chronic treatment since the age of 18.
At the end of January this year, he was approved to become a member of Discovery Medical Aid, but there is a 12-month waiting period before they will start to pay for his dialysis treatments.
Du Preez is hoping that he will gain enough strength through regular dialysis to be considered suitable for a kidney transplant, or for implantation of a bioartificial device that functions like a kidney.
He says it is foreseen that this device will be available locally in two years' time.
Lodyn will continue with her fund-raising through a children's table where she sells sweets at the entrepreneurs' night on the first Friday of every month at the Garden Route Botanical Garden.
"I want to thank the Lions Club from my heart for their wonderful help. I will stick to the fund-raising as we need the extra income to cope."
Read a previous article: Community drive to keep Father alive
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