Thank You for all the Blessings!

Wow, I am very emotional today! Today I looked around me and saw hurt, love, pain, believe and hope!

I want to share with you the story of Kayla Bezuidenhout. This wonderful 11 year old faces a brutal world everyday of her life and still she smiles!

Kayla has been diagnosed with Hypothyroidism, this means that this beautiful girl is trapped in a body that keeps putting on weight no matter what she does. Seeing the hurt, the longing to be like the others really made me feel like I can scream at the top of my voice "Why a kid Lord! Why do you do such cruel things! Such a beautiful girl has to carry such a burden in life!"

But as with all things there is hope, Kayla can undergo surgery to make her life whole again, but the medical aid does not want to pay for the procedure, this means that the parents have to get a R 100 000.00 before the surgery scheduled in December.

If you feel that you can help, or know of someone who can help please contact

Hanlie on 0796607767.

Here is a letter written by her mother.

In die Oë van my kind

As ek in die oë van my kind kyk, sien ek so baie dinge.  Ek onthou die gelukkige en onskuldige baba en peuter wat so ‘carefree’ was, totdat die lewe sy streep op haar kom trek het.

Ek sien die bang kleuter wat die eerste keer moes stillê sodat die dokters ‘n naald in haar klein armpie kan steek vir NOG toetse.

Ek sien die trane in haar oë as ons probeer verduidelik wat hierdie groot masjiene is wat so raas wanneer sy nog ‘n MRI or Catscan moet kry.

Ek sien haar onsekerheid as sy op vakansie ook in die see wil swem, maar die ‘tannie-costume’ sonder die Barbie prentjie lyk nie so mooi soos die ander maatjies sin nie, maar sy kan net die een dra want dis al wat pas.

Ek sien die verskriklike hartsverskeurende hartseer wanneer sy my vertel dat iemand haar vandag al weer vet of lelik genoem het.

Ek sien die vrae wanneer sy vandag weer nie in die Wiskunde klas se bank kon inpas nie en Juffrou weer nie hoor totdat almal gesien het en weer na haar gestaar het nie.

Ek sien die donker in haar oë wanneer die vreeslike Depressie weer so swaar op haar skouertjies kom druk vandag dat niks vir haar lekker voel nie.

Ek sien die bloedrooi gesiggie wanneer sy saam ‘n maatjie gehardloop het en die hartjie bons uit haar borskas uit, en die sweet hardloop straaltjies teen haar pragtige gesiggie af.

Ek sien die vrae op haar gesiggie as sy vra hoekom Jesus haar gekies het om hierdie siekte voor te gee.

Ek sien die opstanding en frustreerdheid wanneer sy weet ons sal weer klere moet gaan koop want laas seisoen sin is al weer te klein.  Wanneer ons spesiaal die tannie moet gaan sien wat haar skoolklere maak omdat die skoolwinkel sin net nooit wil pas nie.

Ek sien die moedeloosheid as sy haar kosblik oopmaak en dis al weer Provitas en Vrugte.  Die ander maatjies eet dan so lekker.

Ek sien die vrae op haar gesiggie as sy vir haarself in die spieël kyk as sy klaar gebad het en dit lyk dan meer soos ‘n tannie se lyf as ‘n klein dogtertjie sin.

Ek sien die moegheid in haar oë omdat dit vandag al weer nog ‘n dokters besoek by NOG ‘n dokter of hospitaal is…

Ek sien haar gebreekte siel elke keer as sy by die dokter op die skaal moet klim en dis al weer meer as laas.  Al het sy nie die popcorn by die fliek ge-eet of die roomys op die strand nie.

Ek sien nog steeds my pragtige liewe kind met ‘n hart van goud wat soveel empatie het met die mensdom al behandel soveel van hulle haar sleg.

Ek sien my pragtige 11 jarige dogtertjie wat so ‘n lus vir die lewe DIEP binne haar siel bère, maar haar liggaam hou dit gevangene.

Ek sien ‘n lewensveranderde operasie wat in Desember my kind se lewe onherroeplik gaan verander.

EK SIEN HOOP!

London Calling! Go Team GB!

Tower Bridge meets the Bulls 

Wow, what a week,....no, that’s no way to start the description of a life changing experience!

Should I rather say excellent, fantastic, awesome, no, I want to shout “WhooooHoooooo I was there!!”

The Olympics, what can I say, 204 countries competing in 36 different sporting events and my country brought back 6 medals, of which one was history in the making, South Africa winning its first ever Olympic medal in kayaking when Bridgette Hartley won a bronze in the womans 500m meter event.

A picture is worth a 10000000000 words!

The atmosphere was electric, London hosted a spectacular event, actually, what do you expect, they should be able to get it right on the third try (LoL). Everything worked and ran on time like a well made watch, the precision was evident everywhere, the transport, hotels, events, everything just worked, the IOC can reward every volunteer with a medal for making this a event to remember!

Seeing how everything was running on time I decided that a new watch had my name on it and proudly walked into Harrods, what a place! Full of bravado, straight to the watch counter (actually a whole store filled with the most beautiful time pieces I have ever laid my eyes on!), however, with the Rand being like a snot-nosed little kid on the playground trying to stand its man against guys like Bakkies Botha or Bismarck Du Plessis, I found out, to my dismay, that Harrods, although they sell everything under the sun, does not take kidneys as a deposit to buy a watch.

Hows that for brand placement.

So off we went, my personal trainer Greg and I to experience London, you’ll notice I didn’t call him my tour guide, no sir, he is much more than that! Greg knows London better than he knows Pretoria, around this corner, down that road, on the tube, off the tube and viola! 10 Downing Street, the ally where “His Cameron-ness” lives!, down the street, just around that corner, up this street, through the park, “don’t we use the tube!?” “no its easier to walk”, and there is Big Ben, West Minister Abbey and Boots. Up the stairs, across the bridge, down the stairs, just a few blocks, there is the London Eye. Phew!

Now as you might recall from my previous Blog, I see exercise as something you only do in an emergency, but Greg, thanx Bud, it was a pleasure running behind you through London, from the White Cliffs of Dover to Buckingham Palace on foot!

With all the exercise the tank had to be filled, and there I had the wonderful opportunity to sit at a table in one of the poshest restaurants in the world, Zuma in London, with a food and wine expert!

Sivi knows his business, and, his food and wine, what a culinary experience for a guy that eats steak and chips, and sees greens as an area on a golf course. I had to travel to London to have the best lamb chops in the world!

It’s difficult to put into words the feeling I have towards Sivi and Vanessa G, two visionary people that is willing to provide you with all the opportunities in the world, like parents, they guide and motivate you to achieve the greatest heights, and as parents do, they praise, but when necessary, also show you your errors, thanx guys for another HolGoun Family experience!

“If you don’t have confidence, you’ll always find a way not to win” – Carl Lewis

Well till next time.

I know its true, because he said so.....

I am definitely not a story teller because a story is just what it says, a story.
However I have to share with you some "history", as a young boy who regularly heard this piece of "history", there were no way to check the historical accuracy of the "facts", and when asked the narrator always rebuked with "Hoekom sal ek nou lieg!(Why would I lie!)".
So this piece if history of my family goes as follows;

My Grandfather grew up on a farm Melkhoutsfontein near Gouritzriver, and they were 17 brothers and sisters, yes those were the days of hard work, and as I can judge from the number of children, lots of fun (although Oupa would have never admitted to that!).

Oupa was a young boy when his mother was in the "ander tyd" (or as we call it today pregnant). Times were  tough and Doctors where few and far between, unlike today where you cannot swing a cat and hit at least 10 of them. In those days the doctors came by the house, visited the patient and told them what was wrong without the use of X-rays, blood tests, sonars, CT Scans, seance sessions or whatever they use today. Thus near the due date the doctor told the old people that the baby bridged and she should go to the hospital for the birth.
As I (Oupa) mentioned, times where tough, they had to pee in the bath for some warm water, so when the time came to go to hospital they hitched their 12 year old horse to a borrowed cart, only to find that they didn't have any leather straps (rieme) to steer the horse with, eventually one of the brothers remembered where he saw some old rieme, and came back with 4 pieces of dry old leather that looked like bone (hard, white and brittle!).
Oupa as one of the youngest was told to go with them as the older children had to keep working on the farm, as they didn't know how they were going to pay for the medical expenses.
So without fanfare they got onto the old rickety cart, but before his father ( Great Grandfather) got on, he whispered something into the horses ear, and you could see the tears forming in the eyes of the horse, how it changed form being a "soon-to-be-pot-of-glue" to a thoroughbred!
According to Oupa, his father was a great motivator, not only did he have a vocabulary that would make the toughest sailor blush, but he also had the demeanor that said " I WILL CASH THE CHEQUES I WRITE!".

As they turned onto the road the horse began to run, he ran with all he had, when became tired, the old man just shouted "Onthou!".
The horse ran so fast that he had to pull the reins with all his might to ensure that the horse doesn't run out of the harness! He pulled so hard that the blood started to drip from that old, white, brittle pieces of leather!
Now, Oupa, explained, we all know what happens to wet "rieme", they stretch, the more his father pulled to take up the slack in the blood-soaked reins, the harder the horse worked, and the faster it ran! When they went past the modern day location of MossGas, they had such a load of new leather on the cart that there was hardly any place for him to sit, they were making good time, and when they came into Mossel Bay, it looked like they were on their way to the market to sell the leather straps!
But then the bad luck struck!, one of the wheels came off just as they were entering "Park Side West" (a very steep downhill into Mossel Bay), the wheel sped past them, but fortunately all the leather straps on the cart balanced it so it went down on 3 wheels!
They eventually reached the hospital and the baby was born without any complications.

They had such a load of fresh leather straps on the cart, that upon selling it, it payed for the the birth, fixing the wheel, they also bought new clothes for everyone and enough food for a year! Four ox wagons had to take the groceries to the farm!

And the horse......
Well according to Oupa, when he got back to the farm and told his brothers and sisters how the horse ran, they told him that they don't own a horse! only a mule!
That mule still worked for another 25 years on the farm, everyday, from sunrise to sunset, and when it was his time to go, it is said that he even dug his own grave!

What Great Grandfather said to the mule on that day is forever lost to history, but whatever it was the mule must have believed it.
How is that for motivation.

Well till next time.