By DAVID NAGEL
“ANYBODY that has had anything to do with him came out a better person – without a doubt.”
The words of Todd Devine, a former Berwick and ROC footballer, and now Berwick assistant-coach, sum up the feeling from around the local community about his son, and his inspiration, Ethan, who passed away, at the age of just 15 on Tuesday 5 May.
Todd, who along with his wife Trish, and children Bridget and Heath, lost a son and a brother last week, would like to share a message on behalf of the St Michael’s Primary School and Mazenod College student who played for Victoria last year in wheelchair basketball.
“Anybody with a disability needs support,” Todd said in an emotional plea.
“When he first got his wheelchair, I remember pushing him through a supermarket and just looking at people staring at him as we went by.
“He just had his head down and he was trying to find himself.
“People deal with disabled people similar to they do a car accident, they slow down to have a look, and then they speed off.
“We look, then we look away and we keep on walking.
“It’s incredibly important to keep our heads up, look them in the eye, and give them a beautiful smile, because the strength and confidence that it gives them helps them through every day of their lives.”
Ethan Devine’s battle started when he was just 16-months-old.
He had a form of ataxia, which affects the body’s muscle coordination system, and this resulted in further complications that remained undiagnosed. Ethan had a back operation on Tuesday 27 January to straighten his spine out, and his body started to shut down.
“Even until the last minute we didn’t expect it to go this way,” Todd said, before thanking the community for their comforting messages of support.
“The general community support, not just from the Berwick footy club, but from other footy clubs has just been fantastic,” he said.
“The support of his peers and school groups have definitely helped us with what we’ve had to go through… it’s made it a lot easier for us.
As an older-age parent you tend to question Facebook a bit, but what some of his friends have put on Facebook about this young 15-year-old has been so touching and so moving, it’s amazing.”
Todd said his 15-year-old son was the bravest kid he had ever met.
“He just had a crack at anything, he was so brave, his strength, his character, he was just an absolute gift to us all,” he said.
“He even wanted to jump out of a plane with me, after I told him it was the most frightening thing I’d ever done in my life.
“The only time I would have done it again was with him.”
Todd wanted to finally thank the Berwick and ROC football clubs for their efforts in organising a minute’s silence for Ethan before Saturday’s game at Starling Road.
“Trish and I were just so touched, it means a lot to our family,” he said.
“The efforts of both the Berwick and ROC football clubs, to help us through the hard times, we just want to say thank you for your support.”
The funeral service for Ethan Devine was held at St Michael’s Church, Berwick, on Tuesday 12 May.
