AMAZING AUSSIE DAD ON A MISSION!
With his son on his back, Michael did the tough Kokoda Trail to raise funds for cerebral palsy
Was it madness or heroics? Michael Shearman is yet to decide, after hauling his six-year-old son Max, who has cerebral palsy, 96km over the harshest terrain Papua New Guinea has to offer.
Exhausted but thrilled to have completed the gruelling Kokoda Trail, Woman’s Day spoke to proud wife and mum Claire while the boys were out of reach making their way home.
“There were moments I thought Mick was completely mad,” says Claire, 41. “But he’s my hero and I think it’s absolutely outstanding what he’s done.”
The idea to complete the Kokoda Trail was hatched to raise money to trial the effectiveness of the Therasuit, an intensive therapy suit Max has been using for the past few months. It’s already helped him to walk and ride a bike.
Come Kokoda time, Max’s weight had increased from 22kg to 26kg and Michael, 45, knew he’d have his work cut out for him.
“The extra four kilos got Mick really nervous,” laughs Claire, who has a two-year-old daughter and two older stepsons with her husband.
“The week before they left he started saying to Max, ‘No ice-cream for you tonight, mate.’”
On the arduous trek, police officer Michael grew more and more weary after carrying Max in his modified “armchair ride” backpack – but it didn’t stop his son who was full of beans and played soccer with the locals!
EARLY STRUGGLES
Max’s doting parents learned of their son’s brain injury when he was a baby. “We talked and cried, and talked and cried about it in the first week, then we chose to focus on what he can do, instead of what he can’t,” says Claire, who still breaks down seeing her son struggle.
“Max has triplegia, where three limbs have trouble functioning, and it’s a battle for his muscles to keep up with the rate his bones are growing. He struggles to walk and his left arm is tight and slow to react, so writing is difficult.
“His prognosis was to be wheelchairbound for life, but thanks to the Therasuit, his muscles are getting activated and he can now take 50 steps independently.
“We are so proud of his progress that we’re raising money to fund a trial with 15 other CP children, to prove that these $30,000 suits are worthwhile.”
So far, the Shearmans have raised $100,000, of the $450,000 they need to run the trial. “We need to prove the measurable outcomes of this suit so other families who can’t afford it may one day have access to one,” says Claire.
If Michael and Max’s father-son bond was strong before the trek, it’s unbreakable now, and that surprises no one. When Max was two, his loving dad shaped a surfboard for him so they could catch waves in tandem. “The board had indents for Max’s knees and two handles so he could hang on,” smiles Claire proudly.
SETTING NEW GOALS
“They also do the Mornington Peninsula Fun Run each year. Mick pushes Max in a buggy, then about 500m before the finish line, Max does the last bit in his walking frame.” The fun-loving duo like to set goals. Kokoda was a doozy, but the next one is going to push Max to his limits. “He was looking at the Winter OlympicsO on TV one day and noticed the downhilld skiers used poles for balance,” sayss Claire. “Next thing I know, he was saying,s ‘Mum, I can do that – they’ve got sticks!’s Somewhere along the line, skiing becameb snowboarding, and this is what heh now wants to learn.”