Bok manager Rassie Erasmus writes candidly about a terrifying illness that left him swollen and unable to breathe in his book.
Over the past five years, Rassie Erasmus has been instrumental in turning around the Springboks’ fortunes, leading them to two World Cup victories and a British & Irish Lions series victory.
Amazingly, he fought granulomatosis with polyangiitis for a significant portion of 2019. Granulomatosis is an extremely rare condition that can inflame blood vessels in the kidneys, nose, sinuses, throat, and lungs.
Erasmus had a condition once known as Wegener’s disease, which primarily affected his throat, leaving him breathless and giving him the odd sensation that something was lodged there.
In an excerpt from her book Rassie: Stories of life and rugby, Rassie Erasmus explains, “The blockage I felt in my throat was actually in my windpipe.””After scanning my oesophagus, the doctor noticed that it had the same diameter as a nine-year-old youngster. That was how little it was. My windpipe closed because my body believed I had an infection and was sending cells down to fight it.
HOW RASSIE ERASMUS DEALT WITH SHOCK DIAGNOSIS
Once diagnosed, Erasmus underwent intensive treatment, including chemotherapy and cortisone treatments, but he sought to keep his illness and treatment out of the public domain as he didn’t want the news to serve as a distraction during the World Cup year of 2019.
“When I arrived at the first team meeting of the year showing the side-effects of the cortisone, everyone could
They came to their own conclusions because they could tell that I was a guy who liked braaivleis and kuier—it appeared as though I had gained 10 to 15 kg—but Rassie writes in his book.
“Hot flushes caused my face to get red and bother my skin. It made me feel really self-conscious. I was breathing heavily, swelled up, and sweaty like a pig in front of the boys, making it impossible for me to run with them.
“F**k this, I gotta tell the players,” was my thought at the time. I informed them, “I’m a little bit ill,” playing it down so as not to divert their attention.
IN REMISSION
Erasmus was ultimately able to treat the disease effectively, but there numerous side-effects and challenges along the way.
“I’m happy to say the disease did go into remission in 2022, but it’s something I have to check all the time now because you never know what’s going to happen next,” he concludes.
