Meeting Shaq just ‘massive’ for Lucas
BECOMING the first Australian to win Big Brother twice was a massive deal for Reggie Bird, but making her teenage son’s dream to meet NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal come true is “priceless”.
Bird, 48, first hit screens in 2003. She became a household name by winning the third season of Big Brother and its $250,000 cash prize.
The Gold Coast-based mum of two competed and won the show again in 2022, despite being legally blind.
She did so for her kids Mia, 15, and Lucas, 12, who is a terminal sufferer of cystic fibrosis. The condition comes with daily physiotherapy and
medication to help Lucas digest food and break down mucus from his lungs, and a life expectancy of 37.
It is a “constant battle” to keep weight on Lucas, with drink supplements and a high-calorie and fat diet.
Watching her son grow up with the condition, and once say that he did not want to go on living with it, has been heartbreaking for Bird.
“He’s always hated taking his tablets to keep him alive. As he’s getting older, he’s hating it even more.”
That’s why she took the business of wish granting into her own hands.
“Lucas is a massive Lakers fan, has been for years.
“Ever since he’s been playing basketball,” she said.
When he heard Shaquille O’Neal was in town, Lucas asked to meet him for his Make A Wish. But there simply wasn’t time to organise it through the charity. “He was devastated,” Bird said.
So she appealed to Reebok, who hosted a meet-n-greet with O’Neal in Sydney on
Saturday. The footwear company got mum and son on to last-minute flights from their Gold Coast home.
“The look on Lucas’ face when he got to meet him is a memory we’ll treasure forever,” Bird said.
When they arrived instore, Bird and Lucas were ushered down the back, and told they wouldn’t be able to get his top signed.
“Quite a few people were there. But Shaq came over and shook Lucas’ hand, and signed it for him.
“He was speechless. Totally starstruck.”
“It was really cool to meet him,” Lucas enthused.
“He was really big. I thought I would come up to
near his shoulder (in height), but I was only up to his belly button.”
Under the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme, the best available cystic fibrosis medicine costs $6.80 a script. Without it, around $300,000 a year. Bird successfully campaigned to get the Trikafta drug subsidised.
For her, the best part about winning Big Brother the second time around wasn’t the glitz or glamour – but boosting a platform she can use help families like hers.
“That and, my kids never wanted to stand with me at the bus stop before. But now they’re quite proud to guide me around the place,” she said.
THE LOOK ON LUCAS’ FACE WHEN HE GOT TO MEET HIM IS A MEMORY WE’LL TREASURE FOREVER. HE WAS SPEECHLESS. TOTALLY STARSTRUCK.
REGGIE BIRD