It’s a miracle that I ever became a

It’s a miracle that I ever became a professional footballer. It’s a miracle I lived at all. When I think about what I went through as a baby, I have no idea how I’m here today, fit and doing what I love, playing football. I had a condition called Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia, which is a defect in the diaphragm that allows vital organs to be sucked up into the chest cavity causing suffocation. I’m well aware of how lucky I am. Ninety nine percent of babies didn’t survive back in 1982. Luckily, I did and it has shaped my entire outlook on life. Life was a second-by-second proposition in the period immediately after I was born. I was flown from Wollongong Hospital in a helicopter to the Children’s Hospital in Sydney. It was a race against the clock. I was rushed in for emergency surgery to repair the hernia. I was cut in half, all the way around my stomach, leaving just the skin on my back connected. It’s incredible that a human can survive that. The work of the doctors was incredible. Lifesaving. For months, my Mother and Father, Yasna and Michael, spent a lot of sleepless nights by my side not knowing if I’d make the next day. I can’t even imagine how they must have felt, seeing me hooked up to all those cords and machines. It was so painful for them that we never really spoke much about it and only recently, at 35, have we been comfortable to talk about it. I understand why. It was such a torturous period for my parents. You would want to forget about something like that and move forward. Both my Mother and Father did an amazing job getting me to where I am today. They are incredible parents. The process of rebuilding me took 12 months but it wasn’t long before I was fighting for my life again. When I was two years old, I suffered a ruptured appendix. We were in the car, driving to Canberra for Christmas when I started vomiting. Mum and Dad took me to hospital. It was lucky they did. If it had gone on a few more hours I may not have survived. I can never repay my Mum and Dad. They gave everything so I could be in the position that I am today. They are extremely proud of what I’ve achieved and sometimes shake their heads in disbelief at what we got through together as a family. Growing up with the knowledge that I came so close to death shaped who I am as a person. I’ve gone on to celebrate goals and win trophies. I don’t feel any lasting effects of that condition but it’s something that has made me brave, determined and resilient. It sparked a fire within me. I’ve still got a big scar on my stomach. Every time I see it I feel incredibly grateful for the life I have lived.