CANDICE MELTS GIANT’S HEART
Specialised athlete has the touch
MEET the inspirational girl who has melted the heart of Gold Coast rugby league dynamo Konrad Hurrell.
In return, the Titans giant is helping teenager Candice Green make her days a little easier.
The 14-year-old has been dealt a tougher road than most. Candice was born with a chromosome imbalance. She has severe scoliosis, is unable to talk, was predicted to never walk and has to be fed through a button in her stomach. She has had a series of surgeries including on both hips.
But Candice is a battler who refuses to be held back, a trait that constantly has Hurrell in awe.
Her efforts have led to her being short-listed in the final five for NRL Young Person of the Year, meaning her and mother Judy will soon be Sydney-bound for the NRL Community Awards held on Saturday week. Candice and Hurrell have struck up a friendship through the Titans’ affiliation with the Touch Football Specialised program she plays in. Every time she sees the popular centre, her face lights up.
She is usually in a wheelchair pushed by Judy but, guided by Movement Solutions Physiotherapy, is slowly making progress towards walking.
“It’s amazing, it’s inspiring,” Hurrell said. “She is doing all this work and they say she is getting stronger and stronger every time.
“Giving her the ball and pushing her and the other kids know as well, they just don’t touch her and she is scoring and you start celebrating. It is really good.”
Judy heaped praise on the Tongan-born star, who when sidelined by a hamstring injury went out of his way to visit Candice for her birthday.
“She has come a long way. They said she would never walk or do anything, so she is doing really well,” she said.
“The Titans have been so wonderful. Some of the guys have come down and played with the kids. Koni was one of the main ones and you could see his face, he loved it just as much as they did and the kids loved having him there.”
Hurrell, who last week received the Titans’ “The Preston” Community Award, said: “Other people think it’s for them (the kids and fans) but for myself I get a lot out of what I am doing.”
Candice represented Australia in a Touch Football Specialised match against New Zealand last Saturday.