Marinda DeWet

If you have ever met Marinda, you know one thing almost immediately: she is one of the kindest, most selfless people you will ever meet.

She is an incredible mom to Alwyn and Marelie, the kind of parent who always puts her children first. She loves spending time with them, reading a good book, making crafts, and cheering from the sidelines of every rugby match and karate competition. Even as her health has declined, she has done everything possible to keep showing up for the people she loves.

Marinda has also spent years serving children as the lunchroom manager at a local school in Colorado Springs. She truly loves her job and takes great pride in caring for the students she sees every day. Her coworkers know her as someone who is dependable, compassionate, and always willing to put others before herself.

Nearly 13 years ago, what began as a persistent cough slowly started changing her life. Despite seeing multiple doctors over the years, no one could determine why her breathing continued to worsen. Eventually, she was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive disease that permanently scars the lungs and makes breathing increasingly difficult. Although doctors are still unsure what originally caused the disease, today the cause no longer matters. Saving her life does.

In February 2025, her battle became even more serious when she suffered a pulmonary embolism, requiring a five-day hospitalization. From that moment on, she became dependent on supplemental oxygen 24 hours a day.

For many people, that would have marked the end of their ability to work.

But not Marinda.

Carrying her oxygen tank with her every day, she continued going to work because she never wanted to let her students, coworkers, or employer down. Every doctor who has cared for her has been amazed that someone with lungs as severely damaged as Marinda’s was still working. They simply could not believe she continued showing up day after day despite the tremendous physical toll it took on her body.

That is who Marinda is.

She has always put others before herself, even when it meant sacrificing her own health. Her determination, resilience, and unwavering work ethic have inspired everyone around her.

In January 2026, after becoming alarmingly frail and losing a significant amount of weight, Marinda was finally able to see a pulmonologist at National Jewish Hospital, who immediately referred her to the lung transplant team at UCHealth.

During that first appointment, the doctors delivered heartbreaking news: without a double lung transplant, they believed Marinda likely had a year or less to live.

The weeks that followed were filled with hope, fear, determination, and countless appointments. She completed an intensive week-long transplant evaluation, underwent every test imaginable, received every required vaccination, and worked tirelessly to gain enough weight to qualify for surgery.

On July 1, 2026, Marinda will officially be placed on the waiting list for a double lung transplant.

While this is incredible news, time is not on her side.

Today, Marinda depends on supplemental oxygen 24 hours a day. She can no longer walk across a room without stopping to catch her breath and rest. Walking through a grocery store has become impossible. Her world has become heartbreakingly small.

Much of each day is spent in a single room connected to the oxygen hose that keeps her alive. Every outing requires careful planning around oxygen tanks—how many she will need and how long they will last. As her pulmonary fibrosis continues to progress, her outings have become fewer and farther between, and she grows more frail with each passing day.

Years of prednisone treatment have also caused insulin-dependent diabetes, adding another challenge to an already overwhelming journey. At the same time, her heart is working overtime simply to supply her body with enough oxygen, making it incredibly difficult to maintain a healthy weight.

And yet, she keeps fighting.

Her transplant team considers her an outstanding candidate. She has never smoked, rarely drinks, and has done everything her doctors have asked of her. They believe that once she receives new lungs and completes her recovery, she has an excellent chance of returning to the life she loves.

She dreams of doing the things most of us rarely think twice about: walking without oxygen, taking a shower without becoming exhausted, going to the grocery store, enjoying a movie or a concert, traveling with family, and even skiing again.

More than anything, Marinda longs to travel home to South Africa to hug her elderly parents. Living thousands of miles away while fighting for every breath has been heartbreaking, and her greatest wish is to become healthy enough to make that trip and spend precious time with them again.

Most of all, she wants to continue being there for Alwyn and Marelie and to make many more memories with the people she loves most.

Unfortunately, while Marinda waits for the call that could save her life, the financial burden continues to grow.

Because her position with the school district is furloughed during the summer and her health will prevent her from returning to work in August, she is now relying on COBRA insurance with premiums exceeding $800 every month. Combined with the loss of income and the many expenses that come with preparing for and recovering from a transplant, the financial strain is overwhelming.

The purpose of this campaign is to help cover Marinda’s insurance premiums and lost wages so she can focus entirely on staying healthy enough to receive her transplant and recovering afterward—not worrying about how she will pay the bills.

Those who know Marinda know she would never ask for help unless she truly needed it.

Today, she does.

A double lung transplant will not simply save Marinda’s life. It will give a devoted mother the chance to watch her children grow, allow a daughter to embrace her aging parents again in South Africa, and return a woman who has spent her life caring for others to the life she has fought so hard to keep.

Today, Marinda needs others to care for her.

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation through Help Hope Live in Marinda’s honor today. Every gift, no matter the size, helps give her another chance to breathe, to live, and to come home to the people she loves.

If you are unable to donate, you can still make an enormous difference by sharing Marinda’s story with your family, friends, coworkers, and social media networks.

We would also love to organize fundraisers in Marinda’s honor. If you would like to help, please contact:

Melissa deWet [email protected]

Marius deWet [email protected]

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your prayers, generosity, and support. Together, we can help give Marinda the greatest gift imaginable: a second chance at life.