Bok rugby legend Joost inspires MND sufferers
[caption id="attachment_41894" align="alignright" width="405"] MEMORABLE MEETING: Former Springbok scrumhalf Joost van der Westhuizen meets Eastern Cape Motor Neuron Disease Association (MNDA) branch manager Gaynor Bishop and EP Craven Week captain Johann van Niekerk. Picture: MIKE HOLMES[/caption]
INCREASINGLY frail rugby legend Joost van der Westhuizen, who is helping sufferers of motor neuron disease (MND) worldwide change the way they face the condition, brought this same inspiration to Nelson Mandela Bay yesterday.
Wheelchair-bound Van der Westhuizen – whose debilitating disease is taking a visible physical toll and has reduced him to whispering – arrived at the Beach Hotel in Summerstrand to bring his message of encouragement to about 20 members of the Motor Neuron Disease Association (MNDA).
The former Springbok captain arrived from George just before 11am, and was greeted by smiles of adoration from waiting supporters.
He was speaking for the J9 Foundation which he formed to aid those suffering from the illness he was diagnosed with in 2010.
MND – a neurological disorder that selectively affects motor neurons, the cells that control voluntary muscle activity – varies in severity, but the body is attacked in stages until the respiratory system fails. - Tremaine van Aardt
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