The North Melbourne vice-captain and team-mates Andrew Swallow, Sam Wright and Lachlan Hansen were lucky enough to meet Myles Quinn, who was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) at just five weeks old.
Embarking on the 65 Roses Challenge, Catherine, Myles' mother has captured 65 portraits of friends, family and even strangers to raise awareness and much needed funds for Cystic Fibrosis Victoria.
As lifelong Kangaroos' fans and passionate members, Catherine and husband Mark completed the album in the perfect way.
"I thought 'wouldn’t it be fantastic if we could have the 65th portrait with North Melbourne?'", Catherine told NMFC.com.au.
"...because we love the football club and I thought it would be a wonderful thing to surprise everyone with."
"I put my idea out there on Facebook but I didn’t really follow it up, but my friend Chris, who I went to university with 20 years ago, contacted the club without me knowing and organised everything."
Myles' photos with the North players are sure to capture attention and aid a vital cause.
"I felt somewhat overwhelmed meeting Drew Petrie, I couldn’t help but get tears in my eyes. He has been a favourite player for some years now. He is a man of amazing talent and skill and so very, very tall," Catherine added.
"My little man Myles has always been a big baby, consistently on the 98th percentile, even despite his CF. When he was born, many people, by way of congratulations, expressed great expectations about his future sporting potential. Future full-forward for North or destined to open the batting or bowling for Australia, and here he is being held by one of our favourite sporting heroes."
Behind the smiles in the portraits, the seriousness of Myles' illness cannot be underestimated.
"We found out that he had CF through the newborn screening that they do. It was something that we weren’t expecting; there was no history of it on either side of the family. It was a big, big shock.
"It’s a recessive genetic condition where you inherit a faulty gene from each parent. Our older children don’t have it; luckily they inherited the good genes from us rather than the faulty genes. But there’s a one in four chance when you’ve got two parents who carry the gene that you’ll have a child who has CF."
Cystic Fibrosis is the most common life-threatening recessive genetic condition affecting Australian children and young adults. It primarily affects the lungs and digestive system. People who have CF must have daily intensive chest therapy to combat the build up of mucas in the lungs.
The road ahead for Myles will be more challenging and uncertain than it is for other children his age, but the love of his incredible parents, as well as siblings Elara (4) and Sophia (7) means he will never do it alone.
"We didn’t know what it would mean in terms of his life-expectancy, because the average life-expectancy (currently) is 37. But because he’s born in this era, there’s much better knowledge and practices in place now.
"We’re hopeful that he’ll have a long and fulfilling life. Regardless of how long it is, I believe life’s about being present in the present moment, valuing and appreciating what we have. Also not worrying about the future because whether you have CF or you don’t, you never really know what the future holds anyway."
Through her beautiful portraits, Catherine has raised more than $3,000 for Cystic Fibrosis Victoria.
To view Catherine's 65 portraits, click here
To make a donation, click here
Some quick facts about Cystic Fibrosis:
• There are over 3,000 people living with CF in Australia
• Approximately one in every 2,500 babies will be born with CF
• On average 1 in 25 people carry the CF gene
• There are approximately 1 million genetic carriers of CF in Australia.
• CF is an inherited condition. For a child to be born with CF both parents must be genetic carriers
• Management and treatment of CF is lifelong, ongoing and relentless
• Due to advancements the average life expectancy of someone living with CF is now 37
• As yet, there is no cure.
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