My name is Heather Annis, I am now a physician in the United States but met Alister decades ago when we lived a few farms apart and we have been friends for at least 40 years. He inspired my love of the Thoroughbred racehorse which led to 23 years in that industry before I followed my childhood dream of becoming a doctor so I could help people. Now, more than ever, that dream allows me to understand the critical nature of Alistair’s plight, the urgent need for financial assistance, and the opportunity to help a wonderful, wonderful friend. Because GoFundMe fundraisers cannot be set up in South Africa at this time, he is trusting me to run this fundraiser to save his life.

In mid-December, following a few weeks of experiencing nausea, excessive fatigue, shortness of breath and weight loss - a visit to his PCP/GP and subsequent blood workup revealed Alistair has stage 4 chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Without private medical aid Alistair was reliant on the provincial (government) healthcare system to go through the initial evaluation process and subsequent tests. Following three days as an ‘outpatient,’ he was admitted to Stellenbosch Hospital on 22 December (the first time in his 71 years he had ever been hospitalized!) - and ended up on a continuous drip for his 7 days as an inpatient - while the doctors established his ‘baseline’.

The earliest that Alistair can get an ultrasound of his kidneys is 21 February and, in the interim, he has a tentative date for an appointment with a private nephrologist for the end of April (but is hoping for a cancellation that will get him an earlier appointment). It has already been established that as he is over the age limit (60) for ‘provincial health’ dialysis treatments etc. - so is going to have to find the means to fund private treatment (dialysis or a kidney transplant) hence the necessity of this GoFundMe appeal.

For the past eleven years, his business as a Bloodstock broker in South Africa has been a struggle for survival as their industry has been unable to export horses directly to Europe and the subsequent industry losses have been monumental. Now, just as the racing industry finally got the right people at the helm, and the export protocols are on the verge of being changed, Alistair‘s health is impacting his passion for the South African Thoroughbred, his ability to continue sourcing/introducing more horses - like FORT WOOD and AL MUFTI (among others) who have become local ‘breed shapers,’ to the country, and most of all, his own life.

Any donations, no matter how small, will help - so, please, if you can donate, click below - and, if possible, please also share this plea with your contacts within the tremendous ‘family’ that make up the global Bloodstock industry.

All funds raised by this GoFundMe campaign will be paid directly to Alistair for administration purposes and hopefully, put him on the road to recovery and active in the Thoroughbred industry for years to come!

Thank you.