Western Force hooker Nathan Charles has cystic fibrosis but is in line for a Wallabie
Jamie Pandaram The Daily Telegraph May 22, 2012 12:00am
http://twf.com.au/imgcache/814.png
Source: The Daily Telegraph
AT three months of age, Nathan Charles was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis and his parents told not to expect to plan a 10th birthday party.
Twenty-two years later, he stands on the verge of representing his country as the only sufferer of the disease on this planet playing a professional contact sport.
"I was never in a situation where CF, in any way, has controlled the outcomes of my life," Charles said.
So forget trying to remind Charles that the life expectancy for sufferers of CF - for which there is no known cure - is just 37 years.
"I just don't think like that," Charles said. "I see it as though I'll live to 80 or 90. It is something I know won't play a role in my life."
The Western Force hooker didn't get this far following the usual scripts.
True, there are the 28 tablets a day - 20 vitamins and eight medicinal, double that on a bad day - and the constant vigilance of his diet and health, but Charles is breaking down barriers unimaginable just two decades ago when his life expectancy would have been 17 years.
"What I do is not realistic for everyone, but is a starting point for them to see what is possible," Charles said. "I don't like to be judged because I have this disease.
"I don't want sympathy. Everyone in life has challenges, and as a person you are judged not by your falls but how you rise from them.
"People can judge me for how I've risen from my challenge.
"There are a lot of kids affected far more severely than I have been.
"I find it very hard to listen to people just tell sob stories. I have got to deal with what is in front of me, so I'll move forwards and upwards.
"I'm not going to sit and wonder why this happened to me. I'm very strongly against getting sympathy.
"I am very proud of achieving everything that I have not because I suffer from CF, but because they are my achievements."
His greatest achievement could come in the next fortnight.
Charles is a strong contender for the Wallabies in their first Test this year against Scotland. Given the Force and Queensland Reds have a bye the weekend before, many of their players will be preferred for that match.
But Charles will not be handed a Test cap because it suits the schedule - Australian coach Robbie Deans has made clear he will not select those who are undeserving.
Charles has been a powerful performer all season in a beaten side, showing solidity in the set-piece and a verve for running the ball. If chosen, Charles will have earned his spot.
He is one of the few Force players to re-sign with the club amid its calamitous recent period, starting with the departure of coach Richard Graham, the ignominy of Will Genia's rejection, the uncertainty of skipper David Pocock's future, and both heavy and heartbreaking losses in between.
Yet Charles senses that these rough times will steel the club for better days.
"I believe we can do what the Reds did three years ago," Charles said.
"It seems like this year nothing has gone right for us but we will be better for the experience.
"In a couple of years I won't be surprised if we can do similar things to what Queensland have done in turning it around."
Any scoffing at that suggestion will have fallen on deaf ears, for Charles only plans to hear the crashing of further walls placed in front of him.
"My parents (David and Heike) were told at my birth that a lot of kids don't make it to double digits," Charles said. "But my parents are very optimistic and really backed me. I would not be where I am today without their support. I was never surrounded by those type of people who told me I couldn't do this or that.
"I live by the motto, 'Believe in yourself. The only thing that can stop you is you'."
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/spo...-1226362852443
