The son of Anita Rokx from Sint Willebrord was a cheerful and cheerful boy. But at the age of 21 everything became different. Jeroen had the most aggressive form of MS and within six months he was in a wheelchair. “I’d rather die today than tomorrow,” he told his mother. A visit from NAC player Anthony Lurling changed everything.
One day Anita was called by the police. “They had found Jeroen in Breda. He had fallen by bike and brought to the hospital unconscious. Jeroen liked to go with friends so I thought: he drank a bit a lot. But he said he had nothing to do.”
A few days later the hospital called. “They had found something in his blood. That turned out to be MS.” Then Jeroen quickly deteriorated. “He got problems with his hands, couldn’t get anything anymore. His view and speech became less. He had problems swallowing. Every time he got an attack, functions disappeared.”
It gave Anita a lot of grief to see her son go backwards. “I tried to keep myself strong. Because I never liked it when he saw my grief.” She saw her sweet, spontaneous boy change: “He was very depressed, didn’t want to live anymore. He had problems with food and absolutely did not want any tube feeding. While that really had to be.”
“Boy, do you want to be strong enough to come back to NAC?”
Anita called Jeroens Favorite Club NAC and managed to visit him. “It was around Christmas. Then Anthony Lurling talked to Jeroen:” Yes, boy, do you want to be strong enough again to come to NAC again? Then you have to do something with your food, accept that tube feeding. ” Two days later Jeroen called us to tell you that he had tube feeding. “
With visits to NAC or a performance by his favorite singer Sieneke, Anita tried to brighten up Jeroen’s life. When he turned 38, she arranged a big carnival party for him via the TV program Brabants Buske of Omroep Brabant. And after she told Koen Wijn about Jeroen’s radio broadcast, special guest John de Bever promised that he would come by: “And he has been here, a cup of coffee was drunk. Jeroen also liked that.”
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His last year was signed by the corona measures that were in force. Anita was only allowed to visit her son occasionally. “All the while he was not able to go in his wheelchair and he has been in bed a lot. He had heavy blows with that. He then deteriorated hard.”
“If something happens to me, I’m done with it.”
Shortly before his death, Anita visited him with a friend. “He was very cheerful and cheerful. Tried to make jokes, although he couldn’t talk. Very strange, it was like he had a revival.” Moments later, Jeroen got a fever and fell sick. “He had pneumonia, but he no longer wanted treatment.” If something happens to me, I will be done with it, “he would have said. And I had all the respect for that.”
Jeroen died on Christmas Day 2021, he was 39 years old. His funeral was dominated by his favorite football club: “He wanted to go in the coffin in his NAC clothing and there was a NAC flag on it. I had a nice bouquet made with black-yellow flowers and the NAC logo.”
Anita keeps the memory of Jeroen alive in her house. There are photos everywhere and there is a ceramic drop on the coffee table that symbolizes its last tear. Every Saturday evening she thinks about here with him: “Usually at nine o’clock I grab a scrubbelèr, because he loved that. We have toasted life on his cremation. Normally I am not a drinker, but I have promised him to keep doing that. I am just a bit sad, but I do it for him.”
