Joost van der Westhuizen is “showing us all his fighting spirit”, says Amor Vittone, with the former Springbok captain still in a “stable but critical condition” late on Saturday night at a Johannesburg hospital.
The 45-year-old Van der Westhuizen was admitted to hospital on Saturday morning, with his J9 Foundation providing an update in the evening that he was still in a critical condition.
The former Bok scrumhalf has fighting Motor Neurone Disease (MND) since 2011, and has in recent times required an oxygen tank to help him breathe.
Vittone said on Facebook late on Saturday that the family appreciated the messages of support from the public for her estranged husband, with whom she has two children, son Jordan and daughter Kylie.
“Joost, at this moment is still critical in hospital, but showing us all his fighting spirit! Please keep him in your prayers and thank you for all the beautiful messages of encouragement. Jordan and Kylie have shown tremendous courage through this difficult time. Lots of love, Amor,” Vittone posted.
The J9 Foundation stated on Saturday night that Van der Westhuizen “remains in a stable but critical condition. Please continue praying, the family appreciates all the support from across the world”.
Earlier, the foundation had to squash rumours doing the rounds on social media that Van der Westhuizen had died on Saturday afternoon.
“Joost is still fighting in hospital everyone. Keep praying for him. Please follow only this page for updates, there are a lot of rumours. However, we will keep posting with the correct details.”
His 1995 Springbok Rugby World Cup-winning teammate Hennie le Roux told the SABC on Saturday that he had been planning to visit Van der Westhuizen on Friday, but that “it was not looking good for Joost”, and that the former scrumhalf was being “kept alive by machines at the moment”.
Van der Westhuizen, who played in 89 Tests and scored 38 tries, was a crucial part of the Boks’ 1995 World Cup triumph on home soil.
He also captained the team at the 1999 edition, where South Africa went down to Australia in the semi-finals, courtesy of a Stephen Larkham drop goal in extra time.
The former Bulls stalwart retired in 2003 following his third and last World Cup.