GARDEN ROUTE | KAROO NEWS - Kidney transplant recipient Dean Arnolds (24) is showing his gratitude for his new lease on life by cycling for charity from George to Gqeberha.
The money raised will go towards a therapeutic play area at the Red Cross Hospital in Cape Town. His target is R150 000.
Arnold plans to leave George on 4 October and arrive in Gqeberha on the 8th. Another cyclist from George will accompany him.
Arnold has strong ties with George. His late grandmother, Alida Pedro, lived in Conville and he plans to depart from her grave in George.
Arnold is practising for the 400km ride and says donations or any other support is welcome.
"The fundraiser is a way of saying thank you because the Red Cross means a lot to me. I also want to tell people it is not the end of the world when you get a transplant. There is hope at the end after a transplant. I also want to encourage people to live a healthy life."
Born in Port Elizabeth, Arnolds was in and out of hospitals. Only at the age of nine he was diagnosed at the Red Cross Hospital in Cape Town with posterior ureteral valves, which caused chronic renal failure.
Dean Arnolds
He says it can happen to anyone and believes that ultimately God is in control.
He was on the transplant waiting list for six years. "We had to travel to Cape Town three times a year for my check-ups and prescriptions."
The life-changing call from the Red Cross Hospital came on 29 September 2014 at 05:45. A kidney had become available. Within 30 minutes he was readied and flown to Cape Town.
The transplant was a great success.
"As a transplant recipient I encourage everyone to register as an organ donor. I am living testimony that organ donors save lives." Arnold is a member of the South African Transplant Sport Association and practises a variety of sports. He has earned his Protea colours in the 400m sprint.
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