The Fremantle Football Club, South Metropolitan Area Health Service (SMAHS) and leading health insurer MBF hosted 11 courageous children and their families at the annual MBF Bravery Awards on Thursday in the club's boardroom.

Now in its 15th year, the awards recognise not only bravery, but are held in admiration of the amazing strength and determination of these special young people who, for one reason or another, pass through the wards of hospitals within the SMAHS.

Hosted by Fremantle players, including Stephen Hill, Nic Suban and Matt de Boer, this year’s recipients shared some special stories with more than 70 guests.

Fremantle’s Player Development Coach Steve Malaxos was the MC of the event and said that he found the stories of all the winners quite remarkable.

“It’s hard to single out one particular child, as they are all courageous, but I found the plight of young 10-year-old Fabien quite incredible,” Malaxos said.

“He was born with an abnormal right foot and only a few months ago the surgeons at Fremantle Hospital decided to amputate his foot because it was impeding his development.

“He now has a prosthesis fitted and he is doing really well.

“It was great to meet him, as well as all of the other brave young people who we honoured during the awards ceremony.”

This year’s 11 recipients were from Hospitals across SMAHS, including Fremantle Hospital, Rockingham General Hospital and Armadale Kelmscott Memorial Hospital.

The winners received specially created medallions and other rewards in recognition of their bravery, which were presented by Mark Harvey and Peter Hudson.

“Even after decades of battling on the footy field against the best footballers in the country, I’m still amazed by the true bravery displayed every day by these young heroes in the wards of our hospitals,” Hudson said.

“Their courage and determination is truly inspirational as they face challenges that easily overshadow the many day-to-day issues we may be concerned with.

“Everyday MBF is there to support close to three million Australians for those unforeseen events where they need the best medical care to help get them back on track.

“We are proud to be partnering with Fremantle in not only encouraging all Australians to lead healthy lifestyles, but also to support and encourage those in the community in need.”

This year’s Bravery Award winners are:

Mr Dean Hansen (15) Suburb: Seville Grove, Armadale

Dean was exceptionally polite and accommodating during his stay on the children’s ward.

In January Dean was rushed to the hospital when a bamboo stick which was thrown in a game, penetrated his lower left leg.

At the Emergency Department, staff removed the bamboo and patched Dean up with bandages before he went home.

Unfortunately, overnight the wound became infected causing a fever and Dean had to go back to hospital.

Dean had to have surgery to treat the infected wound and was in hospital for two weeks while he got better.

His grandmother Judith spoke proudly of her young grandson’s bravery, noting that she didn’t see him cry once, despite having surgery three times and even celebrating his 15th birthday in hospital.

She also thanked the team at Armadale for spoiling him during his stay.

Today, Dean has recovered and is back playing football for Clontarf Football Academy, which runs a special football program for Indigenous high school children.

Ms Phoebe-Rose Kendall (13) Suburb: Eaton (Bunbury)

Phoebe was rushed to hospital after a visit to the doctor because she couldn’t see properly out of her right eye.

Back in 2006, Phoebe had an operation to repair a serious eye injury in her left eye. So you can imagine the shock when her family found out that she had a serious eye injury in her other eye.

After her surgery, Phoebe had to lie on her back completely still for 5 days to allow her eye to heal. She then had a follow up surgery which meant she had to spend a further 5 days lying on her side without moving.

Phoebe was nominated because she did everything that was asked of her during her stay at hospital, including not moving for 10 days, which is a very difficult task.

Phoebe’s dad Anthony said he was very proud of the way his daughter was overcoming the hurdles she faced.

He also commended the doctors and nursing staff at Fremantle Hospital, saying that their care and treatment of his daughter was 100 per cent.

Phoebe is now happy to be back at school and juggling her busy after school life between her hobbies - singing, dancing and swimming.

Phoebe will be back at Fremantle Hospital in the coming months for further eye operations to continue to restore her sight.

Ms Ashleigh Pargin (17) Suburb: Rockingham

Ashleigh Pargin was diagnosed with Crohns Disease in 2008 and at some point in the future she will have to endure surgery.

Earlier this year Ashleigh and her family went to Bali on holiday. Unfortunately Ashleigh got sick and the family went straight from the airport to Fremantle Hospital where she was admitted for treatment to bring her symptoms under control.

Ashleigh recognised that she had the same symptoms as younger sister Kelsey who also lives with Crohns.

Mum Donna praised Fremantle staff who helped lift Ashleigh’s spirits during her last admission to hospital.

Ashleigh has decided to defer her university studies for a year but her aim is to complete a communications degree at Curtin University.

Ashleigh is also part of a comedy duo who were finalists in the RAW Comedy Competition, run by the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

To prove that this hurdle can be met head on, our own number 22 in Scott Thornton, also suffers from Crohns and he manages the illness with success which allows him to play football at the elite AFL level.

Mr Jayden Paulik (11) Suburb: Baldivis

Jayden Paulik was at work with his Dad in the school holidays when an accident left him with a severe leg injury.

Jayden arrived by ambulance at Fremantle Hospital Emergency Department and had surgery that night to repair the bad break and laceration in his left leg.

Since that surgery, Jayden has also had a skin graft operation and another procedure to remove the pins in his leg.

Step mum Julie said Jayden was really brave throughout the traumatic accident and when he was recovering in the Children’s Ward.

Jayden loved the nursing staff and Julie said when he was a bit fed up the staff really helped cheer him up.

Jayden, like most 11-year-olds, has bounced back to good health.

He may not be able to play footy for Baldivis Blue this season but odds are that he will be signing up again next season.

Jayden, I can sympathise with you as I am coming back from a wrist injury, as can a lot of the guys here at the club. Watching from the sidelines can be frustrating but I am sure you’ll be back playing in no time.

Mr Fabien Lim (10) Suburb: Girrawheen

Fabien Lim was born with an abnormal right foot. A few months ago surgeons at Fremantle decided to amputate the foot - an operation which would be a lot for any adult to cope with, let alone an active 10-year-old boy.

Fabien had endured many years in a painful splint before the amputation. He couldn’t play sport, he was in a lot of pain and his splint prevented him doing many activities.

Fabien has a prosthesis fitted and according to his mum Mary he can walk and run around better that ever.

He’s even playing soccer and basketball and enjoying sport at school for the first time. But it hasn’t been an easy journey and the first month after his operation was extremely difficult.

Fabien was in a lot of pain and had to get used to a lot of new sensations. He worked hard to recover from the surgery even though he was very scared of the pain.

Nursing staff on the children’s ward said he was extremely brave.

Now there is no stopping Fabien who has adjusted to using his prosthesis and allows him to function independently.

Mr Shiloh Landless (14) Suburb: Australind

A school holiday trip to Perth turned into a medical emergency for our next recipient 14-year-old Shiloh Landless. He was in Perth with his elder brother Jason when he got what they thought was a gastro infection.

However, Shiloh’s condition quickly got worse and Jason took him to Armadale Emergency Department where doctors quickly diagnosed acute appendicitis and transferred him by ambulance to Fremantle.

During what was to be a routine operation surgeons found an abscess by the appendix which also had to be removed. After the complicated surgery Shiloh received IV antibiotics to recover from an acute infection but it was not the end of the story.

Shiloh developed an infection in his left lung and it was back to theatre where surgeons had to remove a small amount of the lung.

You won’t be surprised to hear that Shiloh’s stay in Fremantle was over a month long.

Dad Steve said that he rarely heard his son complain about the extreme pain he must have been in and he was incredibly brave.

The family would like to acknowledge the many staff from the Emergency Department, Heart and Lung Department, theatres, Children’s Ward, and Social Workers, who all helped Shiloh.

Master Aubrey Dann (4) Suburb: Leda

Aubrey is one of ten children in a Fremantle crazed family with connections to the club, namely Phil Narkle.

His favourite player is Roger Hayden and as much as has enjoyed the three wins in a row, he’s looking forward to a few more wins this season!

Aubrey has been extremely brave. He had three operations, regular needles and was in Fremantle hospital for three weeks.

Aubrey went to hospital because he was finding it hard to walk. He had pain in his left hip. Doctors quickly discovered he had arthritis and a bad infection which needed surgery.

Aubrey soon became a favourite on the children’s ward with the staff who said he was a delight to look after.

Mum Lee-Anne said the staff were brilliant, very positive, patient and understanding.
Aubrey had to spend almost two weeks in bed which would be a very difficult thing for most adults but for an active four-year-old that was very hard.

As he got better he worked hard with physiotherapists until he could walk again.

Mr Mel Olivarez (17) Suburb: South Lake

Most 17-year-olds live busy lives but our next winner, Mel Oliverez, has had to put his health above everything else since being diagnosed with acute leukaemia in January.

Mel has only been out of Fremantle Hospital a couple of weeks and is picking up the pieces of his life after months of treatment.

Intensive Chemotherapy courses meant Mel had to stay in hospital to recover from the treatment.

Staff on the hospital’s oncology ward nominated Mel for his positive attitude and for his bravery during the treatments.

Mel is studying for graduation in November and even when he was on the ward he kept up his school studies with teachers visiting him in hospital.

Staff on the ward described Mel as enthusiastic and high-spirited all of which has helped him to manage his illness.

Mel, we all join in wishing you every success in your final studies and hope that the holidays afterwards provide you with some time to relax and time to hang out with your mates.

Mr Rory Gibbs (15) Suburb: Leda

Rory Gibbs was enjoying a holiday in Safety Bay when a fun day of skateboarding went very wrong.

Rory fell off his skateboard and thought he was only winded, until the pain became very bad and all the colour drained from his face.

He was rushed to hospital with a ruptured spleen. This required immediate surgery and 6 days in Fremantle Hospital.

Mum Wendy said Rory was fantastic during the whole ordeal, and she was very impressed with her son’s maturity. He spent most of his stay saying sorry mum for ruining her holiday.

This was not the first injury Rory got from skateboarding as 6 months ago he fell off and broke his arm.

He has 3 months to go before he can get back on his skateboard after being told by doctors ‘no contact sports for 6 months’.

It has also put a hold on all his other hobbies, including water skiing, motorbike riding and BMX bike riding.

Rory we hope that the next three months passes quickly.

Mr Tom Davies (14) Suburb: Cooloongup

Tom Davis is an active teenager who was out on his dirt bike one day when he fell and had a serious accident.

The foot peg from his bike entered his lower back, tearing skin and muscle before it came out in a different spot, creating a very large wound.

Tom rode home standing up on his bike unaware of how serious things were - it took him 20 minutes.

It wasn’t until after he arrived at hospital with parents Lisa and Alex that they all realised how serious the injury was.

Tom collapsed on arrival and went into surgery that night, where he had 96 stitches.

Over the next month, his treatment included having antibiotics and daily dressings on his wound.

Tom was in Princess Margaret hospital for almost 4 weeks before he was transferred to Rockingham hospital for a further 2 weeks. Once home the nurses from the hospital visited him every day to continue the treatment.

Staff nominating Tom said he never complained even though the dressing changes were very painful and the injury meant he spent a lot of time lying down and could not get around easily.

Mum Lisa was amazed at his bravery, mainly because he didn’t ask for pain relief as it made him feel dizzy.

7 months later, Tom has almost fully recovered. He is now able to change the dressings on his wound by himself.

Understandably, Tom’s parents sold his two dirt bikes because they felt they had come too close to losing him.

Miss Amelia Prike (2) Suburb: Kelmscott

Amelia Prike was only 16 months old when her parents took her to the emergency department at Armadale hospital with breathing difficulties and a fever.

Her parents Joe and Ellen-Marie thought it was related to her asthma, so they were very surprised after x-rays revealed their little girl had bronchiolitis and pneumonia.

Amelia was admitted to the children’s ward where she was on oxygen for 5 days.

Mum Ellen-Marie said Amelia was very brave and handled her hospital stay really well.

Staff at Armadale were very impressed by her patience, especially for someone so young.

Amelia did everything she was told, took all her medicine without fuss, and even put up with being in a special oxygen chamber for 5 days which stopped her from being able to move around.