A slow death?
Diederik will do anything for a cure, even get sicker…
Diederik (Hennie Jacobs) lied! He doesn’t have cancer as he told everyone, but he is HIV positive. “He was overwhelmed with the diagnosis and acted irrationally,” Hennie explains of his character’s knee-jerk reaction. Now that his wife Olivia (Nadia Herbst) knows the truth, he is desperate to find a cure and scours the internet for a cure even though he knows there isn’t one. But Diedie’s hope flares up when he comes across someone who promises to heal him and there is nothing that he won’t do to make that happen.
MIRACLE CURE
The person promising to turn his positive into a negative is Dr Renier Dippenaar (Fredrick Bezuidenhout). “Because Diederik is desperate and he feels so broken and shattered, he is naive and will grab onto any piece of hope, however small it may be. That is why he clings to Dr Renier who is promising him the sun and the moon in terms of a cure,” says Hennie.
Diederik introduces his friend Justin (Dann-Jaques Mouton) – whom he recently confided in about his illness – to the doctor, but while Diedie sings his praises, Justin immediately smells a rat. “Justin is intelligent and street smart,” says Hennie. “He immediately suspects that the doctor is busy deceiving Diederik, but Diederik is too blind to face the truth.”
AND THEN IT GETS WORSE
Diederik starts using some of Renier’s medicine but he has a reaction to it. “Diederik develops a skin irritation and he shows it to Renier immediately, but the doctor talks it away and says it’s temporary and will disappear soon. He assures Diederik that he doesn’t need to worry about it at all. ” But just as it seems that his condition is improving, Diedie has a setback. A hysterical Olivia can’t wake him up after he falls asleep… We can’t tell you what’s going to happen, but we can say that Renier leaves The Laan in a hurry. But is it too late for Diederik? • 7de Laan promised to give comment on this storyline, but we didn't receive it in time for deadline – Lucia (editor)