{"id":54331,"date":"2018-06-21T06:00:13","date_gmt":"2018-06-21T04:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/udexpress\/former-comrades-athlete-now-disabled-20180620-2\/"},"modified":"2025-03-20T18:58:11","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T16:58:11","slug":"former-comrades-athlete-now-disabled-20180620-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/udexpress\/former-comrades-athlete-now-disabled-20180620-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Comrades athlete now disabled"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>ONCE an avid Comrades and Two Oceans participant, local athlete Eric Mathys (54) from Uitenhage nowadays is wheelchair bound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mathys was a familiar face at Brocketts Sports in Uitenhage where he was employed before he was diagnosed with brain cancer. Since then he has experienced several setbacks, first a stroke and then epilepsy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mathys and his wife reside in Lapland, where she has to take care of her husband who once was super fit and a keen marathon athlete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kuyabonelelwa, a community home based care group recently donated a wheelchair to Mathys. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEric\u2019s situation is disheartening. His wife cannot work as she has to take care of him 24\/7. The wheelchair is not enough, but at least it will help with his mobility,\u201d said Nduna Ntungwana project director from Kuyabonelelwa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>            -HEILIE COMBRINCK <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ONCE an avid Comrades and Two Oceans participant, local athlete Eric Mathys (54) from Uitenhage nowadays is wheelchair 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