From 'Lucky to Be Alive' to an Iconic Lecturer: Desiree Inspires

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Desiree Hunter isn’t just a lecturer. She’s a fighter, a dreamer and someone who decided to leap toward her dreams anyway, regardless of how many times her chronic illness attempted to get in the way:

Eastern Cape, South Africa (10 May 2024) — When she was just 14 years old, a teenage Desiree Hunter was diagnosed as “lucky to be alive”. She had been told she had a rare liver disease called Autoimmune Hepatitis and was pulled out of school for six months where she began a new life as someone fighting a chronic illness. So, how did she manage to excel at school, earn her PhD and become a lecturer inspiring lives every day? Simple: she decided to go for it all anyway.

Looking back on her life since the diagnosis, Desiree shares that it has since involved multiple liver biopsies, monthly specialist visits and regular hospital admissions. But for her, each of these dreams coming true started with a decision to strive for them regardless of what seemed impossible.

“Despite my illness, I matriculated with several distinctions and enrolled at University of Fort Hare, EL Campus in 2009,” Desiree shares, speaking to the first of many milestones.

Though her future was uncertain, she committed to her academics. In turn, academics began committing to her!

“Whilst completing my M.Com Degree at UFH in 2014, I was approached by the Department of Economics and asked to assist as a time on task lecturer in the Foundation program. The time I spent teaching this program made me realise that this was my purpose and that I wanted to continue in academia.”

After completing her Master’s, she registered for her PHD, got married, completed modules under the Postgraduate Diploma in the Higher Education and Training (PGDHET) program at UFH, got a permanent post in the Economics department on Alice Campus, and realised that she’d done all of this as someone fighting an invisible illness.

But, the battle for her health was still very much on.

“In August 2022, I started experiencing several symptoms, which at first doctors believed to be a stomach bug. I had severe diarrhoea, needing the bathroom up to 22 times daily. I also experienced urgency immediately after eating, nausea, appetite loss, cramping, fatigue, dehydration and dizziness, just to name a few.”

She ended up being hospitalised for two weeks in East London, where medical procedures were daily and multiple doctors, specialists and surgeons were brought on. Eventually, it turned out that she had a second autoimmune disease—ulcerative colitis—impacting her colon. Still, this was not the end of the story.

“I was discharged from hospital and transferred to Cape Town, where I received specialist care from a gastroenterologist. During this first trip to Cape Town, it was also discovered that I had a third related autoimmune condition, that affects the liver ducts, called primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC Overlap Syndrome).

“The combination of these three conditions makes treatment very difficult and significantly increases the likelihood that I may one day need a liver transplant.”

And then, just two weeks later, she contracted COVID where she was placed in ICU.

“My treatment for ulcerative colitis was also not working. In total, I spent over 7 weeks in and out of hospitals in 2022 and made multiple trips to Cape Town as doctors tried to stabilise my condition,” she shares.

But Desiree wasn’t going to let all of this hold her back from what she had worked so hard to achieve.

“With the help of my supervisors and with much motivation from my family, I submitted my PhD in November 2022. I spent many days in hospital working on completing my degree, as well as marking test scripts from my bed. I did not want my recent diagnoses to take control of the beautiful life I had worked so hard to build,” she reflects.

Desiree ended up overcoming all the adversity, and graduated in October 2023 with her PhD! Not slowing down, that year also saw her complete an international teaching fellowship for higher education.

“I still struggle daily with my health and am now on infusions called biologics, which require me to be admitted to hospital for the day every 2 months. I am also currently on 12 different oral medications daily,” says Desiree.

For the inspiring lecturer, she hopes that all she has faced and continues to face while achieving her dreams will make people see that it is possible, no matter what your body, society or anyone else who thinks it isn’t, tells you.

“I wish for my story to be shared, I want students to know, especially those that come from disadvantaged backgrounds or struggle with ‘invisible illnesses’ like mine, or physical disabilities, that with enough willpower, anything is possible.

“I was once a young girl, with a very uncertain future, who had big dreams of becoming a ‘doctor’. Along my pHD journey, I have come to realise that my God-given purpose is not just to be a ‘doctor’ bur also a teacher, and to help my students along their roads to self-discovery.

“Where I work, a lecturer is more than just a teacher. We are mothers, fathers, councillors, mentors, and most importantly, aim to inspire and encourage our students to become lifelong learners.”