Daniella Van Zyl was diagnosed with Leukemia on the 3rd of March 2020, she has faced so much to get healthy and needs a little help to complete her treatment.
South Africa (25 September 2020) – Daniella Van Zyl has had a 2020 like no other! Just like the rest of us, it started as a year filled with promise. She accomplished many milestones, from starting a new career to moving into her first home without her parents.
She imagined a very bright future for herself and had quite a few goals to accomplish but then her life took a turn. Just a month prior to the South African Lockdown, Daniella got the news that she has Leukemia.
“When the year started, I had only just begun to see a clear path for where I would be in 20 or 30 years. I had just begun a new career and moved into my own apartment and could see a bright future for myself, little did I know that the biggest battle for my life was around the corner.
From the beginning of February 2020 I had started noticing bruising over my legs and arms being as clumsy as I am I never paid the bruising much attention, it wasn’t until I started noticing tiny blue and purple dots on my face and inside my mouth that I knew these bruises weren’t from me walking into things but rather that there was something else going on.
The most distinctive memory I have is the emergency doctors and nurses at the Union Hospital rushing around me while the only thought in my mind was “I’m not ready to die” not knowing what was actually going on I just knew I wasn’t ready.
My name is Daniella Van Zyl I am 26 years old and on the 3rd of March 2020 I was diagnosed with Philadelphia Chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ALL) a rare type of blood cancer which requires me to have a lifesaving Bone Marrow Transplant. Given the severity of my condition, I was given 8 months to live. But my conviction remained; “I am not ready to die!”
It has been almost 7 months since my diagnosis and after 4 high doses of chemotherapy, 5 Bone Marrow Biopsies, 4 Spinal Taps and 17 Blood Transfusions I am finally ready to receive a transplant that gives me a second chance at life, only to find out on the 9th of September 2020 that my medical aid does not cover the procedure and I would need to fund the transplant myself.
To receive the news that for me to overcome this illness it is going to cost me an estimated R1.5 million, was devastating. But, as the same woman who knew she wasn’t ready to give up then, I am even more determined to keep fighting for my life now.”
Daniella’s story has been shared across social media platforms and many South Africans have lent a helping hand by donating funds towards her bone marrow transplant. To date, R220,452.27 has been raised to go towards the life-saving procedure.
If you would like to help Daniella get the treatment she needs, you can donate here or register as a bone marrow donor here.
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