Daniël Beetge, the 15-year-old Fanconi anemia sufferer who touched hearts with his courageous fight against leukemia, lost his battle on Sunday.
According to Jeanette Beetge, Daniel’s mother, an infection in his intestines got the better of him and finally claimed Daniel’s life.
Due to the chemotherapy treatment, as well as the recessive bone marrow disease he suffered from, his body was not strong enough to resist the infection.
Jeanette told RNews on Thursday that she, her husband, Willie, and Daniël’s 11-year-old sister, Julia, were devastated by his death.
“We cry a lot, but we are also busy getting things in place for the funeral. It helps to be focused on something else, but we are broke.”
Jeanette told RNews earlier that Daniël was a smart head who could solve a Rubik’s cube in under 15 seconds and he also liked to participate in so-called SpeedCubes competitions.
He also taught himself to play the electric guitar and loved his pet snakes before he had to give them away due to his leukemia diagnosis and subsequent hospital treatment for it.
In a memorial letter, Jeanette writes how Daniël and Julia would laugh and talk together when the power was out. “It filled the house. They loved each other so much. He protected her and stood up for her, and she for him. They liked to ride around the farm together on the four-wheel motorcycle. Julia lost her best friend.”
She says the house will be quiet without the click-clack of Daniel’s cube. “Without the sounds of his guitar, without the sounds of Metallica, without the sudden appearance of a boy who just wants to chat or come and tell about some new gadgetmovie or game.
“We, as parents, will miss the warm feeling it evoked in us when he said the words ‘Daddy’ or ‘Mummy’. We will cherish the memory of sitting outside around the fire and hanging out with music in the background forever in our hearts.”
Jeanette emphasizes the importance of donating blood and bone marrow. “People think it’s a minor thing. It is not. For years it kept my child alive.”
She adds that as a family they will miss Daniel tremendously.
“Me, Willie and Julia are going to stay broken forever.”
Daniël’s funeral will take place on Saturday at 11:00 in his hometown of Lephalale, Limpopo.
