Melina Meletakos, 28 years old, grew up in Pretoria with her mom, dad, and three siblings. Melina was a top student and after graduating with excellent marks she began her working career in Johannesburg before making the decision to work abroad.

Melina worked in Japan and Brazil as a volunteer teacher for an NGO, she excelled in her teaching role and soon became a programme coordinator. In February 2019, Melina returned to South Africa to be closer to her family and soon after she was diagnosed with a brain tumour.

Doctors discovered that Melina’s tumour was not cancerous, however, it would still have to be surgically removed. The tumour is called a meningioma and is situated on top of Melina’s head and due to the size and position of the tumour, doctors found that it is pushing on to Melina’s brain and had already caused a significant amount of swelling.

Melina’s doctors agreed that the tumour needed to be removed as soon as possible. The surgery, however, would cost Melina a total of R1 Million and she, unfortunately, doesn’t have any medical aid. Like most people, Melina never imagined that anything like this would ever happen to her, therefore, she cannot afford the surgery on her own.

After hearing about Melina’s story and her desperate plead for donations, Jacaranda FM’s Good Morning Angels and LottoStar reached out to assist Melina. LottoStar generously contributed R300 000 towards Melina’s surgery and rehabilitation. The R300 000 was accumulated through the LottoStar and Jacaranda FM How Lucky Can You Get? campaign.

We wish Melina all the best with her surgery and recovery.

Update 27 January 2020

Melina went into a 15 hours long surgery on the 16th of January for the removal of her brain tumour. However, the operation did not go as planned and Melina sadly passed away. Before undergoing surgery, Melina’s last wish was that her organs should be donated to save more lives if she did not make it through the procedure and this was honoured.

We were extremely sad to hear about Melina’s passing. We send our deepest condolences to Melina’s family and friends.