Good Morning Angels: Widowed mother is fighting cancer to secure a future for her 11-year-old daughter

Petrovien and Elsie have been friends for more than a decade. They met as colleagues when Elsie was a single mom of a son, who had just left the police service. Petrovien and her husband, Ian, made sure that Elsie was looked after and pitched in with baby-sitting, supper, or just a chat whenever Elsie needed it. But then, four years ago, the tables were turned and Elsie wanted to pay forward the love and support she received from Petrovien.

After retrenchment, Petrovien and Ian invested all their savings and energy in a fast-food business. They worked hard, long hours to keep it going. Then, four years ago, Ian was killed in a car crash. This was a massive, unexpected loss to Petrovien and their now 11-year old daughter, Megan. On top of the emotional trauma, the business was running on debt. Petrovien and Megan not only lost their husband and dad but also their home, income, and car - with no savings to fall back on. Petrovien contacted Elsie and she got a job at the same company. Petrovien and Megan started over with nothing to their names and Petrovien blacklisted, as she and Ian were married in community of property.

They relocated from the East to the West Rand and moved into a small structure on a plot - as that is all Petrovien could afford. She bought a cheap, second-hand car to get her to work and back. At the time, Good Morning Angels and the Centurion Ladies Golf Club assisted to buy Petrovien a reliable car, as she worked shifts and often had to be on the road late at night and early mornings.

READ: Good Morning Angels: The power of women and friendship

However, that was not the end of Petrovien’s troubles. 2018 started with Petrovien being diagnosed with cervical cancer. After months of chemo and radiation, sick leave, and severe illness, Petrovien was finally in remission, cancer-free, and back working shifts. 

However, a year on, the cancer is back and Petrovien had to get an emergency hip-replacement to remove most of cancer. Through Covid-19, she’s received medical treatment, had two rounds of chemo, and cannot work.

Petrovien has a medical aid, but without an income for daily expenses and co-payments pilling up, she’s struggling to keep her head above water.

Elsie again reached out to Good Morning Angels for assistance for her best friend.

REQUEST FOR: Petrovien Turner 

REQUEST FROM: Elsie Roux 

ANGEL: Retha Ingenbleeck, on behalf of the Spar Women’s Virtual Challange 

SPONSORING: The entry page for the Spar Women’s Virtual Challenge 2020 has a donate button for Good Morning Angels. Race entrants have so far generously donated towards Good Morning Angels causes. Spar will donate R45,000 of these funds to assist with Petrovien’s medical and other needs. You can enter here: www.sparvirtualchallenge.co.za 

ORIGINAL REQUEST: 

Elsie Roux has created a fundraising page for Petrovien’s medical costs, with a target of R60,000. To date, just over R26,000 has already been donated. She asked Good Morning Angels for assistance, as Petrovien has started with chemo and has not been able to work for months.

This is the post on the fundraising page:

Petrovien Turner: 

I am a 46-year-old widow and mother of a beautiful, strong-willed pre-teen daughter.

I am trying to raise funds to help pay for my medical bills. I was like most of you, happily married and living my best life. In 2016, my husband passed away tragically and unexpectedly. 

My daughter and I were left with nothing. I was so fortunate to land a very good job at a place that I love and we slowly started to rebuild our lives. 

Then, in December 2018, I received the shocking news: You have Cancer. I picked myself up and started to do what I can to fight this battle. Not just for me, but for my daughter, who already lost one parent. I had surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. All of this ended in June 2019 and I thought I had won and tried to carry on with my life.

Unfortunately, cancer had other ideas. 3 more surgeries and I am still fighting this battle. My last surgery (an emergency hip replacement) happened on 24 May. Smack damn in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

This left me unable to walk or drive, meaning that I cannot go to work. I also had to start chemotherapy again, which will only be done at the end of October.

I cannot work during this time and am not earning a salary while I am undergoing the treatment. 

I hope to reach this target to cover my medical bills for all the surgeries and medical bills. Knowing that I can have the resources to fight this battle instead of expending all my energy worrying about all of this will definitely have an impact on my recovery process.