Personal message

Towards the end of November 2023, my good friend Marlien went to her doctor for her annual checkup, never dreaming for a moment that he would drop the bombshell that she had developed a severe heart murmur and on 30th November, she was admitted to a hospital in Paarl.

After various tests, it was ascertained that Marlien urgently required an angioplasty, and she was transferred to the cardiac unit of a Cape Town hospital, where she underwent the procedure and a total of 5 stents were put in place on 4th December.

But unfortunately, this is not all. Marlien was then given the distressing news that she also required a heart valve replacement. This procedure was scheduled for 19th January, when doctors and hospital staff would be back after many of them had been away for a much-needed end-of-year break. 

All seemed to be going to plan until the hospital accounts came in, and despite having medical aid as well as gap cover insurance to take care of her medical bills, Marlien was faced with a shortfall of R20,860 for the angioplasty procedure and a shortfall of R22,980 for the valve replacement, both of which the gap cover insurance refused to pay, stating that they only cover a shortfall in doctors’ fees and not medical devices..

Despite having made every provision she thought necessary to take care of any future medical contingencies that might arise, Marlien is facing bills of nearly R44,000, an amount that she is totally unable to afford.

Marlien has worked her whole life as an architect and has always been able to take care of herself and her needs. After retiring from her senior position in an architectural practice in Pretoria, she moved to Moorreesburg, where she did well doing remote freelance work for an architectural firm based in Cape Town. 

 But then Covid hit, and unfortunately, her work completely dried up. She has since gone down numerous avenues, such as proofreading and editing manuscripts, to earn an income, but life has become very challenging for Marlien, who is now 78 years old. She finds herself completely unable to meet these devastating and unexpected medical expenses.

 I am appealing to Marlien’s many friends, particularly those from her beloved dog world, to help her with the outstanding payment of these accounts.

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