‘7de Laan’ star David Rees out of ICU as fans raise R79k for his medical fees

The family of 7de Laan actor David Rees have thanked fans and the cast and production team of the soapie for the overwhelming emotional support they have been receiving. 

David suffered a heart attack at his Johannesburg home on Sunday and was hospitalised in an intensive care unit. He was moved to the high care unit on Thursday. 

His team has been updating his fans on the actor's Facebook page, giving them daily news about the actor's condition.

Speaking to TshisaLIVE, David's publicity manager Corlia Strauss said the actor, popularly known for his character Chris Welman in 7de Laan, is recovering well. 

“He is doing fine at this stage. He is in high care. He can only talk to his family. There are visitation limits on his visits.”

The actor does not have medical aid coverage. His sister Monique Buttle started a crowdfunding initiative to try to raise R500,000 to cover the costs of his treatment.

At the time of publication R79,858 had been raised.

Corlia said David told her he was doing fine and looks forward to seeing her. She said the family shared their gratitude to those who have been by their side. 

“The family under these circumstances are doing OK. These circumstances are never nice. There's the BackaBuddy fund. All the money has not yet been raised but we are very thankful for what we have raised thus far.”

Corlia said all the well wishes received have been shared with the star:

“They motivate him quite a bit. The family is very thankful for all the messages, and are also very thankful to his colleagues, the cast and management for the emotional support, as well as the support of the public. The messages are literally streaming in, and we are very thankful for that.”