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<\/p>\nBut after two years, Ansje decided it was time to follow her true passion. She moved to Pretoria to complete a Bachelor\u2019s degree in Interior Design, a path that allowed her to do what she loves, blend technical problem-solving with creativity. \u201cI get bored doing the same thing over and over,\u201d she says. \u201cDesign keeps both sides of my brain busy, and that\u2019s the joy I\u2019ve always sought.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Childhood memories for Ansje are rich and textured, shaped by family and tradition. Each December, her extended family gathered at her grandparents\u2019 holiday home in Uvongo. Together they staged a Christmas play every year, a ritual of laughter, rehearsals, and shared excitement that would leave its mark long into adulthood. \u201cThose holidays,\u201d she recalls, \u201ctaught me about collaboration, creativity, and the joy of simple family rituals and togetherness.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Although she always leaned toward the technical, Ansje was no stranger to the arts. She danced, performed in school plays, and thrived on stage. \u201cDance was my first love,\u201d she says. \u201cThe freedom of movement, the expression, it\u2019s exhilarating. To me, design feels similar; it\u2019s just another way to tell a story.\u201dFamily, for Ansje, has been both a source of joy and profound heartache. She married her high school love, Andr\u00e9, in 2012, and together they had two children: Liam, who looked just like his mum, and Zoe, who took after her dad.<\/p>\n
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But life\u2019s harshest lessons arrived unexpectedly. \u201cLiam was a gentle, radiant presence,\u201d Ansje smiles sadly, \u201che laughed from deep in his tummy and brought joy wherever he went. His first grand mal seizure at 15 months was terrifying, and over the next two years, his condition worsened despite medications and treatments. A ketogenic diet brought some relief, reducing his seizures from fifty a day to five. Yet the toll was already immense: Liam lost many abilities, including speaking, crawling, and laughing. He spent weeks in hospital, including a four-week induced coma, and though doctors fought to save him, the underlying cause remained a mystery.\u201d<\/p>\n
One night, while admitted in Cape Town, Liam went into severe respiratory distress. Ansje held him, whispering that it was okay to let go. He passed away peacefully in his mother\u2019s arms, a few weeks shy of his fourth birthday. \u201cWatching him go was the hardest moment of my life,\u201d she says. Three years later, Andr\u00e9 died. \u201cEven though we were divorced, losing both Andr\u00e9 and Liam in such a short time made it feel as though my entire family had been ripped away from me,\u201d Ansje reflects.<\/p>\n
The grief reshaped her perspective entirely. \u201cI realised how incredibly precious life is,\u201d she explains. \u201cEverything we go through, whether good or painful, can shape us if we allow it. As hard as it was, I had to be strong for Zoe. Living in the shadow of my pain would not have been fair to her. Instead, I chose to embrace life, to let beauty grow from ashes.\u201d Ansje honours Liam and Andr\u00e9 in her daily life through photos, shared stories, and birthday rituals. Zoe, even as a young child, participates in celebrating Liam\u2019s birthday, a small but meaningful act that keeps his memory alive.<\/p>\n
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Then, as if life were testing her resilience again, Ansje received another devastating diagnosis: breast cancer. Just a year after Andr\u00e9\u2019s passing and four years after losing Liam, she discovered Stage 3 Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma, HER2 Positive, in her right breast. \u201cIt felt surreal, like being trapped in a nightmare I couldn\u2019t wake up from,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n
She underwent eight rounds of chemotherapy, a unilateral mastectomy, radiation, Herceptin therapy, and hormonal treatment. The physical side effects were brutal, from sickness and hair loss to dramatic changes in her body. \u201cI felt incomplete, like half a woman,\u201d she admits. Yet even in this darkest chapter, she found support in her partner Marco, who became her husband in 2024. \u201cHe loved me as I was,\u201d she says. \u201cMy short fuzzy hair, scars, and all. His love showed me that true beauty goes far beyond appearances.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Today, Ansje has been in remission for over two years. The journey changed her profoundly. She learned to embrace life\u2019s changes rather than resist them, to measure her growth against her own past rather than others\u2019 standards, and to cherish the moments that truly matter. \u201cThe immense influence of my parents, my faith in God, and Marco\u2019s unyielding positivity carried me through,\u201d she says. \u201cTogether, they taught me that even in storms, joy and strength can exist.\u201d<\/p>\n
Life is now about balance and building a future that honours the past without being consumed by it. Ansje opened a new interior design studio in September, aiming to establish her brand not just locally in the Lowveld, but across South Africa. \u201cEven though follow-ups and scans are part of life,\u201d she says, \u201cthey don\u2019t stop me from planning, building, and pushing forward. Life doesn\u2019t wait, and neither do I.\u201d<\/p>\n
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When she takes a day off, it\u2019s often not about doing nothing. \u201cI\u2019m a busybody, I can\u2019t sit still,\u201d she laughs. Relaxation can mean a nap (Ansje loves to nap), but more often its family time, laughter and connection. Favourite escapes include Klaserie Dam, where lions roar and the moon rises over still water; and quiet moments at home with Zoe and their two Border Collies. These spaces are where joy, peace, and reflection intersect.<\/p>\n
Looking back, Ansje sees growth forged through adversity. She\u2019s stronger, more resilient, and deeply attuned to what matters: family, faith, and living with purpose. \u201cI want Zoe to know that no matter what, she can rise above her circumstances,\u201d she says. \u201cThere is always a rainbow after the storm, but first, you have to weather it.\u201d<\/p>\n
With a confidence that she laughingly says borders on arrogance, this petite, blue-eyed go-getter isn\u2019t slowing down anytime soon. Her journey is a testament to the human spirit: to endure loss, illness and heartache, yet continue to laugh, create, love and inspire. It is a reminder that while life can break us, it can also rebuild us, stronger, wiser, and more fully alive.<\/p>\n
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Born and raised in Mbombela, Ansje Craven left her picturesque Lowveld home-town to study consumer science at North-West University. But after two years, Ansje decided it was time to follow her true passion. She moved to Pretoria to complete a Bachelor\u2019s degree in Interior Design, a path that allowed her to do what she loves, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":20839,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,20,1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-20823","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-people","8":"category-personalities","9":"category-uncategorised"},"yoast_head":"\n