Good Morning Angels (Pieter Brits)

Request from:

Stephanie Maritz 

 

Request for:

Pieter Brits 

 

Angel:

Dick Opperman, Chairman: One Call Insurance 

 
Sponsoring:

One Call will pay off little Pieter’s outstanding medical bills to the value of R18 000,00

 

Background:

Toddler, Pieter Brits is his single mom, Michelle's third and youngest son. They are a happy family from Bethal in Mpumalanga, with mom doing all she can to care and provide for her sons. Little Pieter however needs more care than most other children his age. He was born with a very rare skin condition which means that he must be kept out of UV rays. He has to cover up when he goes outside and cannot play and swim and jump outside with his brothers. He also needs to see a specialist every three months, when his skin is examined and tests are run to make sure that the dark patches on his skin have not developed skin cancer. This is not fully covered by medical aid and his mom has difficulty to keep up financially. Even though the bills are piling up, she pushes on to make sure little Pieter gets the best care possible. 
 

 

Original request:

​
 
Hi all,
 
Michele's little boy was born with LCMN (Large Congenital Melanomic Nevus). Basically it is a skin condition which have the potential to develop into melanoma.  Only approximately 1 out of 500 000 babies in the world are born with it and there is no known reason – however some of the research my cousin did showed that it basically happens round the 20th week of pregnancy,  when all the cells start forming “finishing touches” of the baby. All the pigments on the skin does not spread evenly over the body and clots together. It is not painful or contagious or hereditary, but leaves the child with a significantly higher risk of developing skin cancer.
 
Pieter was born with 4 different types of Nevus: "Bathing" - "Trunk"- and "satellite" and “Large” congenital Nevus and it covers his entire body. Due to this, Pieter can rarely be exposed to direct sunlight and will have to wear a hat, long pants and shirts with very high SPF sunscreens at all times - even during the scorching heat of summer. Pieter will have to be home schooled and will never be able to do Sports or experience the fun of swimming. He requires so much more special care and due to the Nevus and his fragile skin mom cannot use normal baby products.
 
Due to this rare condition Pieter needs to see very expensive specialists regularly. Trips to the doctor for Pieter takes about 2 hours and they drive a distance of roughly 406 km round trip - Bethal to Pretoria. These regular check-ups are crucial as the condition may develop into malignant melanoma and other medical issues.  Pieter is a bright eyed friendly little boy, but I fear that with this condition he will not be able experience all the normal things we enjoyed as children. This tiny Angel faces many medical and psychological challenges at the moment and will probably continue to face them in the future.  The current issues his mom is facing is the sensitivity of his skin. He cannot be left to sleep his full sleep cycles like other babies his age,  without being wakened by mom to change wet nappies otherwise the nevus on his skin becomes enflamed and infected, even a few minutes of wearing a wet Nappy could have painful consequences for him.  She  cannot just use normal baby bum cream, Pieter has to use very expensive antibiotic/anti-inflammatory creams and we are currently facing the problem of finding him UV resistant clothes to protect him.
 
We would like to try and do anything we can in order to make his little life as close to NORMAL as possible for him.
 
Michele has a medical aid but, this does not cover any of Pieter's skin conditions. As Michele is a single mom with 3 boys – her financial income are not enough to provide for all the living expenses, school fees, traveling and the medical bills. There are a few medical bills outstanding as she can’t afford to pay all – all adds up to R 18 000-. Yet again, little Pieter needs to see a specialist every 3 months for screening and biopsies and these specialists are expensive.
 
 Can you please find it in your hearts to assist this warm hearted mom and the challenges there family are facing daily…

Regards,
Stephanie Maritz