
HELL. That's the word he uses to describe his struggle with rectal cancer and it's easy to see why.
Bertie du Plessis has endured a multitude of medical nightmares: dozens of surgeries, several repairs to ruptures in his stomach lining, life-threatening sepsis, a blocked colon - the list goes on and on.
And each time he went under the knife it was just a temporary fix, leaving him no closer to relief from the excruciating pain in his gut. He'd reached the point in his ordeal where he was willing to try any treatment - which is why, when his doctors suggested grafting a piece of pigskin to his stomach lining to stop the ruptures, Bertie didn't think twice.
Pigs have similar genetic and physiological traits to humans and are increasingly being used in medicine, including in skin grafts for burn victims and in cases like Bertie's, where grafts of his own skin were no longer avaiable.
He recently underwent what is called a porcine xenograft a graft using pigskin - and his condition has improved remarkably.
For the first time in years he isn't in agony and, while he still has his health challenges, feeling relief from pain is nothing short of a miracle.
Bertie's health problems began seemingly out of the blue seven years ago. "He was in and out of hospital that year, his wife, Annamarie (61), tells us, sitting close to her husband in a restaurant in a mall near their home in Germiston, Gauteng.
Bertie (64), a retired toolmaker, takes her hand as she grows tearful. It was such a shock, he says. "I'd been as healthy as a horse all my life."
Then everything changed. "One night in 2016 I went to the bathroom and there was a lot of blood in my stool - it looked like there'd been a slaughter of some kind. Annamarie rushed me to hospital in the dead of night."
Bu hikaye YOU South Africa dergisinin 1 June 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye YOU South Africa dergisinin 1 June 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap

TWICE AS NICE!
Adrien Brody’s best actor Oscar has put him among a handful of performers who’ve won the award a second time

NEW LOVE TO HEAL OUR HEARTS
They've both known devastating loss but their relationship has helped to fill the void in the lives

CLUB OF WOE
Manchester United are struggling under crippling debt and sinking dangerously close to the relegation zone

OLDER AND WISER
It’s one of Brooke Shields’ big regrets – that she waited until she was 22 to lose her virginity and then let her hangups stop her from exploring her sexuality. Now as the actress navigates menopause, she opens up in a new memoir about how hormone replacement, backgammon and make-up sex have helped keep her marriage on track

Is it a plane? No, it's a car!
IMAGINE a world where people don't have to plan their lives around traffic, where you no longer worry about a traffic jam making you late for class or your sports practice.

HOW TO GET RID OF AN APRON BELLY
An overhanging belly isn't just frustrating, it can also make you prone to infections and posture problems. Here are three ways to shift it

MOM'S THE WORD
Octomom Natalie Suleman has decided to speak out about her choices and her 14 children because she's tired of 'living in hiding'

DON'T POKE THE BEAR
After his White House battering, Volodymyr Zelenskyy could learn a lesson from other world leaders about how to handle the world’s most powerful man

MY FIGHT FOR JUSTICE
A Cape Town mom was horrified when she got an exorbitant cellphone bill after a holiday in France – and she wasn't about to leave it there

'NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE'
A devastating virus robbed Chris of his sight yet he's brought light and hope to many young lives