Little battler to show his sports wares

When Sam Low was just 14 months old, he received a liver transplant.

The Rockingham resident was born with biliary atresia — a life-threatening childhood disease of the liver in which one or more bile ducts are abnormally narrow, blocked or absent.

Sam is now 10 and in the past nine years has travelled back and forth from Sydney 10 times to undergo surgery to keep his liver healthy.

In September, Sam will again travel east but this time it is for something much more enjoyable — he has been selected to compete in the Australian Transplant Games.

The games will be held from September 25 to October 1 in western Sydney and will involve transplant recipients of all ages from around the country competing in a number of disciplines.

Sam is set to take part in swimming, tennis, athletics, including shot put and javelin, and tenpin bowling.

“I am a bit nervous but also excited ,” he said.

“It will be good to meet up with other transplant kids and share our stories.

“I am starting some extra training with my sport teacher at school next term to make sure I am ready.”

Sam’s mother Tracey Low said it was third time lucky for her son, who had two false alarms before finally receiving a successful liver.

“The first time, we flew to Sydney only to discover the liver was not viable which was devastating,” she said.

“The second time a match popped up, we couldn’t get over there in time.

“During the third attempt, he finally had the surgery but then had to undergo another two operations in the weeks after to fix blood clots, so it was a very stressful time.”

Mrs Low said Sam had become very good at dealing with hospitals.

With the help of his peers at Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School, Sam has been busy raising funds for his trip to Sydney.

An avid cricket fan and player, Sam was lucky enough to receive a visit from Perth Scorchers star Cameron Bancroft and mascot Blaze last month when the School hosted an Orange Day in his honour.

Mrs Low said more than $900 was raised after each child dressed in orange and donated a gold coin to help Sam on his adventure.

“Sam has had a rough time over the years and we are so thankful for the school’s support in helping him get to the games,” she said.

“He is strong and loves to participate in everything he can and we are confident he will have a fantastic time in Sydney.”

The Australian Transplant Games are held every two years with up to 1500 participants expected to come together in 2016.

The first games were held in 1988.

Anybody wishing to assist Sam in his quest for glory can contact him via tracey.low@hotmail.com.