When serious illness arrives, a family’s whole world shifts. For Yolinda van der Merwe, who is bravely fighting stage 4 cancer, that shift has been immense.

Yolinda has been in the care of Wide Horizon Hospice for a month. Wide Horizon is a palliative care and hospice facility serving the Vaal Triangle and the surrounding areas. It cares for people whose conditions no longer respond to curative treatment, as well as those living with any life-limiting illness from the time of diagnosis. Its nurses and carers focus on easing pain and other symptoms, and on protecting each patient’s comfort and dignity. In the In-Patient Unit, families are welcome to stay close to their loved ones, with no formal visiting hours.

The hospice also offers counselling and support for families living with a life-limiting illness, as well as bereavement counselling. Many of the families who come to Wide Horizon are grappling with illness and with the cost of care, and most of its patients cannot pay. The hospice relies on the generosity of the community to keep its doors open and to make sure that no one faces serious illness alone.

A family’s plea for help

Yolinda can no longer care for herself, and Wide Horizon nurses and carers walk beside her every day with gentle hands and a listening ear.Yolinda’s parents, Christo and Gina van Rensburg, are pensioners. They could not give her the professional care she needs at home.

“I can’t ask a dad to help me wash her,” Gina said, explaining why they took their daughter to the Vereeniging hospice. Christo said, “There cannot be anything better than this place.”

Yolinda needs expensive medication, including strong pain relief, and that cost weighs heavily on a family already carrying so much. Wide Horizon is asking the community to stand with her and her family during this difficult time. You can help by donating towards her medication costs, toiletries, groceries, and personal care items.

Wide Horizon Hospice CEO Tersia Burgers says, “Most of the patients in our care cannot pay for our services, and caring for them is only possible because of the kindness of ordinary people. We warmly invite individuals, families, churches, businesses and organisations to kindly sponsor the care of a non-paying patient by sponsoring a bed. Every contribution, large or small, helps us offer comfort, dignity and compassion to someone who needs it, and it tells a family that they are not alone. Thank you for helping us care for Yolinda and for every family who comes through our doors.”

Donations can be made using the banking details below:

Account name: Wide Horizon Hospice
Bank: First National Bank
Branch: Universal Branch
Branch code: 250655
Account number: 51305869261
Reference: Yolinda/Name&Contact