Hot Cares and Ecomed deliver the ultimate Christmas gift — A R360 000 life-changing surgery

This Hot Cares Christmas, we’re bringing hope, healing, and the promise of a brighter future to a family that has endured more heartbreak in one year than most face in a lifetime.

At the centre of this story is 15-year-old Nadea Pearrie, a gentle, spirited teenager living with a rapidly worsening case of scoliosis.

Diagnosed earlier this year with a 40-degree spinal curvature, her condition deteriorated to 52 degrees by September — a point at which the deformity begins to cause chronic, debilitating pain, restrict lung function, and threaten long-term mobility.

Without urgent corrective surgery, the physical toll would only grow… and so would the risks.

But the emotional load her family has been carrying is just as heavy.
In March, Nadea and her sister lost their father suddenly — a devastating blow for any child. Only a few months later, their grandfather passed away too, plunging the family into another wave of grief.

Throughout it all, their mother, Ulandi, a widowed mom of two, has been doing everything she can to hold her family together. Recently employed as a kindergarten teacher and without medical aid, she has no financial safety net and no assets to fall back on.

Recently employed as a kindergarten teacher and without medical aid, she has no financial safety net and no assets to fall back on. The cost of Nadea’s life-saving operation — R360 000 — felt impossibly out of reach.

Yet despite the hardship, Ulandi remains the kind of woman who gives more than she takes. A mother deeply involved in her community and her church, she has always been the one offering support to others — never asking for help herself.

This Christmas, that changes.

When we heard the family’s story, Hot Cares knew we needed to step in — and we also knew just the partner who would feel the same. Our friends at Ecomed immediately understood the urgency and the heart behind this story.

And so today, live on air, Hot Cares and Ecomed revealed the news that will change this family’s life forever: Ecomed will be covering the entire R360 000 cost of Nadea’s life-saving spinal surgery!

But the surprises didn’t end there.

Knowing how much this family has endured — and how deeply they need moments of joy — we wanted to give them something that brings the spirit of Christmas back into their home. So after the emotional reveal, we announced one more gift: A Christmas shopping voucher for the Pearrie family, so they can focus on togetherness, celebration, and healing.

“I didn’t know how we were going to get through this… but now it feels like I can breathe again. This is the best Christmas gift I could ever imagine.” — Nadea

For Nadea, this surgery is more than a medical intervention — it’s the chance to walk into adulthood strong, healthy, and free from pain.

For her mother, it is the lifting of a weight she has carried alone for far too long.

And for all of us at Hot Cares, it’s a reminder of what this season is truly about: restoring hope where it’s been shaken, lighting up lives that have dimmed, and reminding families that they are not alone.