







Hi everyone,
My partner (a South African citizen) and I (a Lithuanian citizen) are planning to move to Pretoria next year. I’m currently completing certifications in Norway as a Personal Trainer, Nutritional Coach, and Corrective Exercise Specialist, and I’m hoping to continue working in the fitness industry once we relocate.
I’d love to hear from people who work in the fitness field in South Africa, especially in Pretoria.
Some questions I have:
Any insights, experiences, or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Hi everyone,
My partner (a South African citizen) and I (a Lithuanian citizen) are planning to move to Pretoria next year. I’m currently completing certifications in Norway as a Personal Trainer, Nutritional Coach, and Corrective Exercise Specialist, and I’m hoping to continue working in the fitness industry once we relocate.
I’d love to hear from people who work in the fitness field in South Africa, especially in Pretoria.
Some questions I have:
Any insights, experiences, or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Hi all, sorry for my english in advance as its not my first language.
1 year ago (2nd of April 2025) my dad was diagnosed with a brain tumour. A surgery was performed a month and a half later and post surgery the tumour was found to be malignant. My father was on chemo for slightly under a year and getting mri’s every 3 months. January 2026 he had an mri scan and my father told me and my sister they found no growths and everything seems to be ok. Fast forward to 2 weeks ago i get a phone call from my sister (i live in Norway and they live in Lithuania) that our fathers live-in-partner had threw him out of the house due to drinking again (he was an alcoholic but hasnt touched alcohol in 10 years). My sister took our dad to stay with her, and shortly after she realized our dad is losing his vision and has very little control of his left arm and leg and his speech was extremely slurred (reason as to why he seemed drunk even tho he hasnt touched alcohol) She called me 3 days later (after she picked him up to stay with her) and told me that shes not sure dad is being completely honest with us due to the signs of the cancer being potentially back. This is were we started worrying a lot about him because he kept having what i can only call “delusional episodes” one moment he seemed totally ok, the next he would ask if he can go see his mom, my grandmother who died 4 years ago due to alzheimers. He was constantly tired and sleepy, barely able to do anything but then one day (17 of april) he woke up and everything seemed great, my sister called me on facetime i spoke with my dad. All seemed like this nightmare was over. Only to get another phone call the next morning (18th of april) from my sister and seeing her face full of tears and her voice shaking.
She told me our dad had a seizure while they were having breakfast and hes been rushed to the hospital. Our hometown doesnt have the best hospital, so they sent him to another town thats 1.5hrs away from where my sister lives. I booked the first flight i could afford and was in my hometown on sunday (19th of april) early morning. Monday (20th of april) we went to visit our dad, the view when i stepped into the room he was in was horrific. My dad skinny, pale and weak tied down to the hospital bed in a diaper unable to move. He woke up and was very confused. He didnt know who i was at first but he recognized my sister and her husband and later me. He kept getting irritated because he wanted to get up and go to the toilet so we kept having to tell him that he needs to use the diaper as uncomfortable as it is untill a doctor tells him its ok to walk. A white lie to keep him calm, because now hes fully paralysed on the left part of his body. Thats when we met a neurosurgeon who had seen his most recent mri scans from January and early in April. Apparently they had found a tiny growth in his brain in January but it was too small and placement was not right to operate. The recent MRI shows a tumour 8x bigger that has grown over both sides of his brain and they cannot operate, as well as he is so weak that he wouldnt survive being put under anesthesia to perform a surgery. We are at a point where there is nothing we can do but be by his side and wait for his suffering to end. We asked the doctor to be honest with us and what we should expect. He said he is no god so he cant give us an exact estimated time of his death but most likely hes got 2 months at most and most likely he will lose any movement and/or brain function within the next month. They brought him into hospice care into the town my sister lives in on wednesday (22nd of april) and i got to see him one more time before having to go back to norway due to work. This time he didnt recognize me at all anymore and thought i was a nurse. I fed him and gave him something to drink and he kept getting irritated again due to wanting to use the bathroom but he couldnt get up. So i calmed him down and when he fell asleep again i just sat by his side for a while just holding his hand and trying not to cry my heart out. Same day i had a flight later in the evening back to Norway cause i cant miss anymore work since i still have bills to pay. Im sitting here not being able to think about anything else but my dad. Stressing everyday scared for the moment i get a phone call telling me hes gone. I dont know how to resume my life how to get back into work and just act like everything is ok. How do i continue? Its like my hearts been ripped open. I dont know how to deal with all of this, i just cry and cry and cry. He was my rock growing up he may have not been the best dad but he tried his best. I just keep replaying back the memory when i told him i dont wanna live with him anymore and want to move to norway with my mom, and i feel so extremely guilty. I just hope he knows how much i love him.
(Picture of me and my dad at our family farm)