Good Morning Angels: Springbok legend Morné Steyn calls on help for Marizaan du Toit

BACKGROUND: Marizaan du Toit, 19, has been an impressive young sportswoman her entire life. “She is the busy one”, says her mom, Jacqueline, of her identical twin daughters. 

Both Marizaan and her twin-sister, Marilu, have competed on provincial level in various sports, but it was women’s rugby that Marizaan has been focusing on recently. She has played for the Blue Bulls and Tuks Women’s Rugby as well as the junior Springboks and was last year drafted for the Senior Women’s Ruby training squad. That’s when she met legendary Bulls and Springbok flyhalf, Morné Steyn. 

"She’s very talented and passionate and I helped her with her kicking,” says Steyn.

Marizaan never stopped training through lockdown and kept her peak fitness level because she wanted to be ready for 2022 - “her year”.

On 4 December last year, everything changed. 

Marizaan suffered a massive stroke. A big part of her skull on the left-hand side was removed due to severe swelling - but she pulled through. She’s in rehab currently, still unable to speak, write or walk. There is no indication of how long this recovery will take, but Jacqueline says - as always - Marizaan works very hard with her therapists.

She will be released from rehab at the end of March - when the family’s medical aid runs out, and from there all her bills will be for their own account. Some of her teammates and former teams have put together fundraisers to assist the family with the medical costs. One of these friends is Morné Steyn, who reached out to Good Morning Angels on Marizaan and her family’s behalf.

REQUEST FOR: Marizaan du Toit and her family.

REQUEST FROM: Blue Bulls and Springbok legend Morné Steyn.

ANGEL: Allan Pennel, Vice-captain of the Northern Nomads Golf Club.

SPONSORING: The Northern Nomads is a registered non-profit organisation and the club is as passionate about community as they are about golf. The Northern Nomads will contribute R60,000 toward Marizaan’s rehab. 

ANGEL 2: The Good Morning Angels Fund NPC

SPONSORING: The Good Morning Angels Fund will assist Marizaan du Toit and her family with R20,000 towards her rehab and recovery. 

YOU CAN HELP: To donate towards her recovery: 

Banking Details: 

Name: Marizaan du Toit

Bank: Capitec

Account Number: 149 266 5329

Branch: 470 010

ORIGINAL REQUEST:

Good day GMA team, 

I hope this mail finds you well. 

I am emailing you on behalf of a teammate of mine, Marizaan Du Toit.  

Marizaan is a 19-year old rugby player who suffered a life-changing stroke on 4 December 2021. 

She was studying at Tuks, playing for TuksWomensRugby and also represented the Blue Bulls women's team last year. She was an energetic and rugby-crazy young player, with an enormous amount of potential.

After her stroke, she was in ICU for four days after which they removed part of her skull as a result of brain swelling. She was connected to a ventilator. After 4 weeks in the ICU, she was moved to Meulmed Medi Clinic for rehabilitation. She suffers from hemiplegia (right-hand side), apraxia (a neurological disorder characterized by the inability to perform familiar movements on command) and aphasia (inability to communicate verbally or written). 

With the family’s medical bills piling up there is a chance that the medical aid will not cover all the costs for the surgery to put Marizaan’s skull back, also her continued rehabilitation following the surgery will not be covered and this is why I am contacting you. 

We have been doing all that we can to raise additional funds for the family, including events and a raffle that I am currently busy with, however, the funds needed are a lot and all and any assistance is greatly appreciated. 

Your favourable consideration is appreciated. 

Kindest regards, 

Libbie Janse van Rensburg

Blue Bulls & Springbok Women's Play

Need help or assistance? Send us an e-mail at angels@jacarandafm.com