THE past few years have been tough for the young couple. First their youngest daughter had a choking accident that robbed her brain of oxygen and left her seriously disabled.
Little Mienke then died in 2020 at the age of three and her parents, Ryno and Verna Mulder, are still struggling to come to terms with their loss.
Now the family have been dealt another blow. Verna (30) recently received a shocking diagnosis: she has an aggressive form of breast cancer. The news has left her shattered but her main concern is for her two other children, Leané (8) and Zamoné (6).
“I don't want them to grow up without a mom," she says. “I'm not even thinking of the treatment, the surgeries. I'm just thinking of those two little girls.”
In their short lives Leané and Zamoné have had to process a lot. Their baby sister was just six months old when she choked on milk at her daycare centre and was rushed to hospital where she spent months barely clinging to life.
She pulled through but her brain damage was severe and doctors warned Verna and Ryno their little girl would never walk, eat or speak.
Then, one morning in September 2020, the couple had to break the news to their daughters that Mienke had died peacefully in her sleep.
"The whole world prayed for Mienke.” Verna says. “We got every possible treatment we could - we even travelled to India for stem-cell treatment. And now she's not even here anymore.
“So I'm thinking, we can do chemo, we can do everything the doctors tell us to, but what if the cancer spreads? What if something happens to me now?"
Ryno (35) is sitting next to his wife. His eyes are red, but he's putting on a brave face. “I tell Verna this is just another mountain for us to climb. And I tell her I take comfort in the fact that we've climbed worse mountains together!
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة 12 May 2022 من YOU South Africa.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة 12 May 2022 من YOU South Africa.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL!
Kourtney Kardashian and other celebs are honouring the glory of new moms' postpartum bodies
LEON'S ORDEAL IS NO JOKE
Pain has dominated entertainer Leon Schuster's life after a serious back injury landed him in bed. But despite being depressed he remains hopeful he will recover so he can get back to work
'BREAK THE SILENCE'
That's the message of the Scottish comedian who turned his experience of stalking and sexual abuse into a hit Netflix show
A PLACE OF HOPE AND HEALING
Damaged people and abused dogs find a safe haven and a chance to start again at this farm in the Cape Winelands
FROM SPERM DONOR TO DAD OF 37
Peter Ellenstein's life took an unexpected turn when a message from a daughter he never knew he had led to him meeting dozens of his children and exploring what it means to be a father without ever having raised them
GRATEFUL FOR EVERY BREATH
A double lung transplant has given this chef a second chance at life - and he'll never forget the young man who made it possible
THE GAMES ARE GO!
Preparations are well under way in the City of Lights for the world's greatest sporting spectacle
MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT
We break down what the new rules are and what to expect for the seventh national elections later this month
TOM'S A TOP GIFTER
He's known to go ALL OUT for his movies and stunts, so it's no surprise TOM CRUISE also PULLS OUT ALL THE STOPS for his friends when it comes to GIFTS
TAMING THE BEAST
Recognising and managing your anger can make for a happier and healthier you