Cape Town - For the first 13 years of life, Richard Burger struggled simply to breathe. His doctors had given up trying to diagnose him when his parents took him to a specialist at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital.
There Richard was told he had cystic fibrosis (CF), a life-threatening inherited disease causing chronic lung and digestive problems.
“He was in a bad time of his life, with his health, until the day he heard about a rugby player in Australia, Nathan Charles, who has cystic fibrosis,” said Johann Burger, Richard’s father.
Charles, 25, a hooker for the Western Force, is the only Super Rugby player living with CF.
“I heard about him the night before I was going to play a rugby match,” said Richard, now 15 and in grade 10 at Rondebosch Boys’ High School.
Learning about Charles’ athletic success changed the way Richard viewed his future of living with the incurable disease. The cousin of Stormers player Schalk Burger, he had always loved sport and tried to live an active life.
On Sunday, Richard met his idol Charles after the Stormers and Western Force rugby match in Cape Town.
Land Rover Stellenbosch donated 10 tickets to the Burgers for Richard and his friends to attend the game. After the match, he was able to have an exclusive meet-and-greet outside the stadium. The two discussed the everyday struggles of living with CF, particularly playing physically rigorous sports.
“There’s also a lot of daily, time-consuming treatments, which might interfere with an athlete’s schedule,” said Marco Zampoli of the Red Cross Children’s Hospital.
CF patients must take anywhere from 20 to 40 pills a day. It is a schedule that requires strict adherence. When left untreated for an extended period, individuals will become malnourished and suffer from extreme chest infections that can cause irreversible damage.
Richard’s late diagnosis could have proved fatal, or caused permanently diminished lung capacity. Fortunately, Zampoli says Richard is in surprisingly “excellent” physical health and shows no signs of slowing down.
Richard hopes to successfully petition the Stormers to play a game wearing orange armbands, the colour that internationally represents CF awareness. He hopes it will prevent others suffering years of misdiagnosis and show them it is possible to live a normal, active life with CF.
- Weekend Argus