Joost van der Westhuizen given 3 years to live
In motor neurone disease, Springbok legend faces toughest opponent
Jamie Pandaram
May 24, 2011
"My faith is strong" ... Joost van der Westhuizen, who has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease. Photo: AP
But Joost van der Westhuizen has vowed to fight on, writes Jamie Pandaram in Durban.
After being told by his doctor he had three years to live, Springboks legend Joost van der Westhuizen's first response was to check his insurance policies to ensure his children would be looked after.
The World Cup-winning halfback is devastated after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease, but has vowed not to give up fighting his ''death sentence''.
''I'm fighting this illness with my faith. And my faith is strong,'' van der Westhuizen told South African newspaper Rapport. The former national captain learnt a month ago of the illness. ''The first thing I did was to check if my policies are in order for my kids,'' van der Westhuizen said.
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He is hoping for some positive news after he visits a second neurologist, but right now all he has are the words of the doctor who gave him the terrifying verdict.
''The wind has been knocked out of my sails,'' he said. ''I stared at the doctor in disbelief. I might only have three years left.''
Van der Westhuizen noticed something was wrong last December when his arm became less mobile and his speech began to slur.
''I struggled to move my hand, but I just left it,'' he said. ''It's typical; I thought it was an old sports injury. But, as time passed my speech became impaired. When I spoke to people, they would say: 'Joost, are you drunk?'
''Later on, when I took the kids to Sun City for three days, it happened again. The kids and I and old Kellies [his doctor and friend, Dr Henry Kelbrick] played in the pool with a ball.
''Then Kellies and I started to wrestle. That's when he realised there's something wrong with my arm.
''The next day we started to talk. I asked him: 'Can you hear that my speech is becoming more and more impaired?' He immediately sent me to a neurologist and then they took X-rays.
''After he [Kelbrick] told me I have motor neurone disease, he said that doctors didn't know how to treat it. I became a blank. I hardly remember anything from that day … It's my nervous system disintegrating.''
Van der Westhuizen shares the record as the greatest tryscorer for South Africa at 38 with wing Bryan Habana and captained the 1999 World Cup team. He retired after playing in the 2003 tournament.
A defining moment of his career was a try-saving tackle on a rampaging Jonah Lomu during the 1995 World Cup final, which the Springboks won, sparking joyous celebrations in a Nelson Mandela-inspired South Africa. He was admired for his courageous style, making a habit of bringing down opponents twice his size. Now he faces his toughest challenge of all. ''But, I will fight this thing. Even if it's the last thing I do.''
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/un...#ixzz1NJPHW5zB
