Fremantle Dockers’ forward Chris Mayne visited the Princess Margaret Hospital on Thursday as part of his and the club’s ongoing commitment to the Starlight Children’s Foundation.
As Freo approach the Starlight Purple Haze Game, proudly supported by Fremantle Ports, in round two, it’s a special time for Mayne whose relationship with the charity can be traced back to his own experiences as a child in hospital.
“I was born with a cleft palate and spent the first night by myself as I was transferred straight away to Princess Margaret Hospital,” Mayne said.
“I had my first operation when I was three months old.
“I barely had a nose and mouth and had to have surgery to reconstruct them both."
Mayne said his experiences as a child were confronting and is still reminded of them even today.
“As soon as I was able to speak, I had to go through speech therapy,” he said.
“Still to this day I find words hard to pronounce.”
While this period of his life was challenging to say the least, Mayne said it was the positivity and love from family and hospital staff that guided him through and left an imprint on his outlook on life.
“It was a challenge for me, but one I could overcome through the support of my family and the staff at PMH," he said.
“Thinking about it really reminds me of what all these kids and families are going through and the support they have from the Starlight Children’s Foundation.
“It makes their time a lot more special and helps them achieve and overcome what they’re dealing with.”
Mayne was happy to provide his story, but was humble in accepting that his obstacles paled in comparison to the brave kids of Starlight.
“I grew up with a condition but nothing compared to what these kids are going through,” he admitted.
“It puts it into perspective now because our biggest problem was probably the parking, but the kids in hospital today are dealing with much more and so are the families.”
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Having navigated the trials and tribulations of a childhood spent in and out of hospital, Mayne said the honour of being able represent the Fremantle Dockers as a Starlight Ambassador was of personal importance to him.
“It’s definitely something I hold close to my heart,” he said.
“We’re living our dream and unfortunately many of these kids don’t get that same opportunity.
“We head to every ward visit we possibly can, every function we can attend and be involved with the Starlight Captains.
“All we need is 30 minutes, for us as players to go in there, change their mindset and it allows them to talk about something other than what they’re dealing with at the time.”
After speaking candidly about his childhood and the significance of the Starlight Purple Haze Game, Mayne finished with a rousing message to the Freo faithful.
“We have the ability to break the one million dollar mark since we first began Purple Haze,” he said.
“Every little bit you give, that’s a story to tell your family and friends that can help make that difference.
“It’s been an amazing journey so far and we hope everyone can take some time to think about the role you can play in helping the Starlight Children’s Foundation become bigger, stronger and better than ever before."
The Fremantle Dockers Foundation is proud to have the Starlight Children's Foundation on board as a Principal 'Friend of the Foundation'
