Page 12 - NLN November

Three young locals were award recipients at the annual
Lions Children of Courage Awards held at The Lakes College
on Saturday 14th October.
Zaid Seker is 8 years of age and was Joshua Joubert is 6 years of age and
nominated by The Lakes College under was nominated by The Lakes College
the Special Needs Category. under the Bravery, Courageous Act or
The Special Needs Category recognises Deed Category.
children with health and/or physical Joshua was born with a condition known
impairment who have bravely strived to as Hypo plastic left heart syndrome.
overcome these obstacles and improve This means that the left side of Joshua’s
the quality of their lives. In October 2016, heart was severely under-developed and
Zaid was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease also included a combination of several
after struggling for a period of time with other abnormalities of the heart and
health issues and fatigue. great blood vessels. This is a very serious
He struggled with his school work whilst in year 2 due to medical condition that required Joshua’s parents to make the impossible
appointments and absences and subsequently missed a lot of lessons. decision to either let Joshua pass in his first couple of days or undergo
His grades and self-esteem suffered immensely. a series of major surgeries that may or may not have helped. In
Zaid has been on medication since being diagnosed as well as taking a discussion with many doctors, nurses and family and the fact that
range of other supplements to help reduce his symptoms. Since being Joshua seemed so big and healthy the decision was made to go to
on his medications he has been able to focus in class and catch up on Melbourne and fight for Joshua.
missed concepts at home and he has welcomed unfamiliar strategies Over the next five months Joshua endured many surgeries to correct
in the classroom and at home to help manage his symptoms. his heart condition and was many times in a critically fragile state
Zaid is very active and participates in karate, dancing, table tennis, yet slowly improving. During this time he was also fitted with a
swimming and bike riding. He loves singing and playing both the pacemaker. Almost six months after he was born Joshua was allowed
drums and the violin when not a school at the Lakes College North to leave Melbourne to return to a hospital in Brisbane then two days
Lakes. When he grows up he said that he would like to be an actor. later was allowed to go home for the first time since his birth. The
Layla Baird is 10 years of age and was nurses were very sad to see him leave because they said he always
nominated by Mango Hill State School gave the best cuddles.
under the Bravery, Courageous Act or During Joshua’s check-ups, he would get many injections and give
Deed Category. many blood samples. Joshua hates needles! However, the biggest
and best news is that Joshua’s health continues to improve so
The Courageous Act or Deed Category well that even his cardiologist is surprised at his progress. Because
recognises children who have shown Joshua has improved so much and is so active, he has since had
great concern for others, aided at an his pacemaker removed. During his life Joshua has undergone many
accident, assisted with the preservation unpleasant procedures and situations and unfortunately there will
of life or property, undergone life saving be more to come. Joshua loves kicking the ball, wrestling with his
surgery or daily medical treatments. dad, playing with his mates and riding his bike. His teachers describe
Layla has been diagnosed with type1 him as a very charismatic and friendly student who loves nothing
diabetes and must check her blood glucose Ievels (BGL’s) all the more than to play with his friends.
time to make sure her insulin levels are safe. She needs to inject The Lions Children of Courage Awards are held annually and are
seven needles into herself each day to stay alive. Recently Layla Australia wide. For more information on the Lions Club of North
attended the year five, four day camp at Currimundi. To be able to Lakes, visit www.northlakes.qld.lions.org.au
participate, Layla showed great courage and maturity in being able
to self-manage her type one diabetes, maintaining a safe insulin level Big Local would like to congratulate the award recipients:
at all times throughout the four day camp. She loves gymnastics, Zaid Seker
practicing up to twelve hours per week. Layla’s ambition is to become Award presented by Englebert Krampl – Lions Q3 District Governor
a gymnastics coach and also dreams of being selected in the Olympics Layla Baird
one day. Award presented by Chris Whiting MP – State Member for Murrumba
Joshua Joubert
Award presented by Councillor Julie Greer Div. 4 Moreton Bay