GOOD Hope FM sports presenter and Kaapse producer Lorenzo Darries is preparing for a lifesaving surgery and is in need of a heart transplant and may also require a pacemaker as part of his treatment.
He has been approved and placed on the transplant list after being diagnosed with a heart disease known as cardiomyopathy which runs in the family and has claimed the lives of his mother and three siblings.
Lorenzo shared that he was born with one kidney and his heart rate is pumping between 10 to 15 percent.
“Sometimes I get extremely sick and the heart needs a bit of help from the doctors, so the body can get back to operational duty and that means stepping away from work from time to time, resting, and focusing entirely on my health,” he said.
“One of the markers of cardiomyopathy is where your body retains water, so your ankles, belly and face start swelling, you can’t walk, shortness of breath, dizziness, you can’t sleep at night and fall over. I have had all of that for quite a while now. Doctors are at the stage where they need to do the heart transplant as soon as possible rather than later."
Lorenzo shared that he has been in and out of hospital and needs to have a transplant done as soon as a heart becomes available.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have income protection insurance. So when I don’t work, I don’t get paid. The financial stress, in addition to the physical and emotional weight of this journey, is overwhelming,” he added.
A Back-a-Buddy campaign has been created in hopes of getting R200 000 all donations will go directly towards covering essential living expenses while he is unable to work such as rent, groceries, utilities including medical costs and transportation for appointments, procedures, and recovery.
To help Lorenzo, donations can be made to his Back a Buddy account https://www.backabuddy.co.za/campaign/help-lorenzo-keep-beating.