Brisbane Lions Pearce Hanley, Matthew Lueunberger & Jed Adcock recently helped spread some cheer at the Toowoomba Base Hospital during their Australia Post AFL Community Camp.
The entire Brisbane Lions playing group was in Toowoomba and the Darling Downs for two days on February 15th & 16th, with just one of the many stops the Toowoomba Base Hospital.
The boys were on hand to meet some of the patients, families and staff across three different wards, one of which being the newly built Cancer Care unit, known as ‘Ward 6D’
The first stop on the tour was handing out some showbags to the children who found themselves in hospital. A young girl and her family from Chinchilla were just packing up to go home as the Lions walked in to the room, however they delayed their departure just long enough to get some autographs.
Another father was pacing the room, waiting on the outcome of his daughter’s surgery and the Lions helped provide him with some much needed respite.
The highlight of the trip was undoubtedly the unplanned stopover in the Special Care unit for premature babies. The boys were shown around to all of the newborns, many of whom were not even close to the size of Matt’s hand.
The session turned into a ‘reverse Q&A’ as the ‘mother hen’ of the ward proudly showed all of the intricacies of the ward and answered all of the questions the players had to ask about what it takes to look after a premature baby.
“Personally it was fascinating to see the look on the faces of new parents, the staff as well as the Lions players was something I’ll never forget”, said AFLQ Club Coordinator Christopher Davis.
“Many of these people are going through some of the toughest times of their life and for the boys to even just talk about footy and provide some respite means a great deal to them and their families”, said Davis.
The boys were also on hand to answer some hard hitting questions from an elderly Lions fan and his family in Ward 6D. The questions were far reaching, ranging from “what position do you play?” to “what would a half-time speech sound like?”
Although the boys could only be there for an hour, the impact they had will no doubt last for quite some time for the people they were able to visit.
This story is the fourth in a series detailing the Lions visit to Toowoomba and the Darling Downs for their 2013 Australia Post AFL Community Camp.
Last Modified on 08/04/2013 16:40
