A few weeks ago, Jason stood on the ice in Antarctica – a place he’s been dreaming about since he was a little boy…
Western Cape, South Africa (04 March 2026) – Just over a year ago, he was fighting for his life.
In 2024, Jason Keymer was diagnosed with a Germinoma brain tumour. His family says it’s the moment that split their world clean in two, ‘before’ and ‘after’ diagnosis.
Cancer treatment is gruelling. Following the diagnosis, Jason braved months of aggressive radiation treatment and everything that went with it. He battled exhaustion so heavy he could barely get through a day. At night, he couldn’t sleep. A loss of appetite so severe that eating became a daily struggle.
When Jason’s treatment finally ended, the journey had just started. His body was weak, his strength and nutrition shot, and his body felt like it belonged to someone else. For a young teenager – and in fact, any adult – the period after radiation treatment can be one of the most difficult.
LeAnne – Jason’s mom – says that their community in the South Peninsula became their ‘healing mecca’. A place where people showed up in ways they will never forget.
Oxygen therapy was part of how Jason’s body started rebuilding again, and Wings Hyperbaric Centre in Noordhoek became a place of healing they’d regularly visit. An angel called Letitia showed up every week with high-dose IV infusions. When Jason could barely eat, a local nutritional scientist named Heidi found ways to get nourishment back into his body.
And the thing that gave Jason the most peace was spending time with horses at Solara’s Wings in Noordhoek – just being around them, in the quiet, is how he found some stillness and calm in a chapter when he still felt like a stranger in his own body.
The kindness was never-ending. Neighbours dropped off food. Friends kept checking in, even when they didn’t know what to say. Doctors went further than the call of duty to make sure that Jason would bounce back.
“We have been carried by this community,” says LeAnne. “From medical professionals to friends who simply checked in or brought meals — every single act mattered. When you’re in crisis, you realise how extraordinary ordinary people can be.” says LeAnne Keymer.
The biggest surprise came just a few weeks ago.
Long before any of this, visiting Antarctica was one of Jason’s biggest dreams. The owner of White Desert Antarctica, after hearing Jason’s story, made it come true. He generously sponsored the trip for Jason and his mom to visit the ‘bottom of the world.’
And so this teenager, who a year ago was struggling to get through a single day, boarded a flight to one of the most remote places on the planet.
“Antarctica has always represented something wild and extraordinary to Jason,” says LeAnne. “To see him standing there, healthy and strong after everything he’s endured, was overwhelming. It reminded us that even after the harshest seasons, life can still be beautiful.”
Antarctica is often described as one of the harshest environments on Earth, yet life exists there in remarkable ways. When Jason stood on that ice alongside his biggest supporter – his mom – it became symbolic of everything he has overcome in his few years.
Recovery is never linear, and LeAnne is honest about that. There are still hard days, and energy comes and goes. But Jason is recovering, and the dreams he had before the diagnosis have already helped lift him up again.
After his hardest battle, he got to stand at the bottom of the world and realise a dream.
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