Hearing a young woman’s heartbreaking struggle with lupus on the radio ignited a fire in Scott Arendse. Mercédi, just 18, has battled Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) since she was 12, robbing her of a normal teenage life.
Cape Town, South Africa (04 March 2025) – After hearing a Heart FM radio interview about a young woman’s struggle with an aggressive lupus diagnosis, Scott Arendse was moved to the core.
He had come to learn about Mercédi, an 18-year-old who was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythmatosus (SLE) at just 12. SLE is an autoimmune disease which aggressively and relentlessly attacks the healthy cells and organs in your body.
Mercédi has not only missed her first year of high school due to illness, but she has also lost much of her adolescent life as a result. She had to give up her favorite sports and hobbies, including swimming, hockey, athletics, modern and contemporary dance, and soccer, due to rheumatoid arthritis.
Time spent with friends has also been heartbreakingly snatched from her far too many times than a teen should have to experience.
Upon hearing about her challenges, Scott knew he had to do something to help her situation. His idea? To run from Simonstown to Diep River (21km – half marathon distance) to raise funds and awareness for Mercédi.
“I heard this young lady’s story and it really touched me as my wife too suffers from an autoimmune disease called Sarcoidosis and I know how tough it is to deal with the challenges on a daily basis,” Scott tells us.
While he doesn’t consider himself a runner as such, his love for sport and helping people is enough to take on the 21km “Miles for Mercédi” challenge.
Mercedi is in Grade 12 this year, the most important, long awaited and most exciting period of her school career. Sadly, she has already missed out on the first part of this exhilarating experience due to health setbacks triggered by an acute kidney infection in January.
As a result, her systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has now affected her kidneys, leading to lupus nephritis and stage 4 kidney failure. At this stage, her kidneys are functioning at only 15-29% of their normal capacity, and aggressive and costly treatment is necessary.
“I am just me and I would like to help her in any way I can,” shares Scott.
To help Scott give Mercédi a fighting chance to overcome this dreadful condition and reclaim the promising life that awaits her, visit the Mercédi LUPUS WARRIOR BackaBuddy page and check out Scott’s event page on Facebook to attend or tag along on the run for a great cause.
Sources: Scott Arendse | BackaBuddy
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