Troy (16) was diagnosed with Juvenile Nasopharyngeal Angiofibroma (JNA), a sporadic disease that affects adolescent boys, at the end of 2021. His father, Jeff, said they have been in the Unitas Hospital in Pretoria for the last two weeks. Over the weekend, they had an emergency when Troy started bleeding. “He has had constant bleeding in his nasal cavity where they removed tumours before. There are open blood vessels, and it is hard to stop them from bleeding.

“On Saturday, he had three bleeds and lost a lot of blood.” He said doctors unsuccessfully tried inflammable balloons to stop the bleeding. “He is going for an operation today (Monday) to stop the bleeding.” He said that it is very hard to see his son like this. “It has been two and a half years now. I’m watching him fade away. As a single parent of two boys, I am divided between two places.”

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“I am in Centurion, while my youngest Eli is in Kampersrus trying his best to focus on schoolwork,” Jeff said. The current crisis started nearly three weeks ago when Troy started bleeding from his mouth. “The paramedics stabilised him in Hoedspruit, and we went to Tzaneen Mediclinic. They too struggled to stop the bleeding. He received a blood transfusion the next day but started to bleed again.”

Troy was transferred to Unitas Hospital in Centurion where his doctor is. “At the moment he is not in a good state, he lost a lot of blood.” He said the dry conditions in Hoedspruit contribute to the bleeding. “He also picked up a virus somewhere along the way blocking the left nasal cavity which is very septic,” he said. Anyone who can help with Troy’s hospital bills can contact Jeff at 065 670 9642.