He's Become A Real Fighter

Reece has been to hell and back enduring gruelling treatment for a rare syndrome that increases the risk of cancer

- Jody-Lynn Taylor

When she closes her eyes she can still see her son, grinning as he played with other kids on the jumping castle that was set up in her garden.

Back in January 2016, as Marsha Trumpelmann watched Reece enjoying himself at the birthday party she was hosting for a nephew in their garden, she thought he was a healthy 10-year-old.

But in a heartbeat that illusion was shattered.

While he was jumping on the inflatable castle, one of the other children fell on top of him. As the boy’s elbow connected with Reece’s jaw, he felt a shooting pain and within moments he’d developed a strange bump.

Marsha (41) could see it was no ordinary bump. She and her husband, Bjorn (45), took him to hospital for X-rays and when they got the results they were floored.

“We saw he had tumours growing in his jawbone.”

From then on nothing was the same for the Trumpelmanns, who live in Bapsfontein on Gauteng’s East Rand.

Within weeks they got the news that the reason Reece had the tumours is because he suffers from Gorlin syndrome – an extremely rare condition that affects the entire body and raises the risk of developing various cancerous and non-cancerous tumours.

Over the past four years the couple and their two daughters have had to dig deep to support Reece as he’s undergone 19 operations to remove 40 tumours from his jaw, as well as skin cancer on various parts of his body.

He’s also had a bone graft, lost 16 teeth and had five dental implants.

The family know of only one other child and one adult in South Africa who have Gorlin syndrome.