Courtesy photo Renier De Beer, his wife Suzanne and their children Kiera and Caitlin, were recently given $23,000, which was raised by students, staff, family and friends of Presentation of Mary Academy.

HUDSON – The community of Presentation of Mary Academy has recently come together to serve a local family. Students were challenged by Principal Sister Maria Rosa to make sacrifices during the Lent season.

Students were not allowed to ask parents for money, and instead make sacrifices to support the needs of a family with two children in the school system.

Students were challenged to raise $10,000 from Ash Wednesday to Holy Thursday. A total of $23,000 was raised by students, staff, family and friends of Presentation of Mary Academy.

Money was raised to assist the De Beer family in renovations to make their home handicap-accessible. In 2017, Renier De Beer, a father to two young girls, Kiera and Caitlin, who attend the school, was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.

The De Beer family is facing an uphill battle of medical bills associated with the vicious disease.

De Beer told The Telegraph he initially noticed something was wrong when was working as an assistant track and field coach in 2017. He was losing his balance frequently and couldn’t keep up with the athletes he was training for the 800 meter races. De Beer first questioned if this could be due to age, or poor nutrition, but nothing was getting better. Later on, he received two diagnoses of ALS. Despite this diagnosis, De Beer has continued to remain active to the best of his abilities and is fighting to keep from letting this steal his life.

De Beer came to Nashua nearly 10 years ago from the United Kingdom with his wife, Suzanne, for work reasons, but fell in love with the Granite State quickly.

He began getting involved in different activities throughout the community, such as 10K races and half marathons. He also took part in mountain biking and skiing.

Now, De Beer is wheelchair-bound and cannot participate in those activities as he once did. After initial grief and frustration, De Beer decided he had to push forward.

De Beer told The Telegraph he was simply learning to live again.

“Life deals you this stuff. You just have to get with it; you can’t waste time,” De Beer said. “You learn to live again. You have to live again because every month you lose something. You can lose a bit of movement, but there is still so much to live for.”

Despite his limbs giving him trouble and losing movement in different areas of his body, De Beer continues to swim. He wants to stay active due to its positive benefits on the human body, such as keeping his heart rate up.

De Beer said his diagnosis changed the way he looks at life.

“A lot of people get diagnosed in their mid-40s, just when they have their families going — their kids are growing up,” Renier said. “You just have to get over the hump. You think you can’t take part in it, but you very much can. You end up getting more involved. You go to more soccer games… you suck everything in – the friends, the memories.”

Recently on the blog he created to document his journey, De Beer questioned how to truly give thanks to those who do for him, such as the group of dads from his daughters’ school who spontaneously dedicated their time to clear the family’s yard of winter leaves and debris, or the children and parents of Presentation of Mary who “give so generously to help with climbing disability costs.”

“I give thanks to the human spirit of the Good Samaritan. For those who sacrifice for us in need. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart,” De Beer wrote.

Those who would like to support the De Beer family can still do so by sending a donation to Presentation of Mary Academy at 182 Lowell Road, Hudson, or visiting the school’s website at pmaschool.org under “Support PMA/Donate Online.”

Newsletter