Roughy by Jarryd Roughead

Author:Jarryd Roughead [Roughead, Jarryd]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781760144210
Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia

I actually barrack for Hawthorn – my dad lived in Glenferrie, used to go to training and all that stuff, so I grew up with them. I’d go to games with my mum and dad and sister; I was there when Jason Dunstall kicked 17 goals against Richmond at Waverley.

But I didn’t tell Jarryd for a long time – I was very conscious of having a professional relationship. He never asked me, and I didn’t say anything. We’ve got a connection with another football family, and they met Jarryd at an appointment. That patient’s father said to Jarryd, ‘You know Donna barracks for Hawthorn, don’t you?’ He looked at me and said, ‘You didn’t tell me!’

My son Lewis did work experience at Hawthorn, which Jarryd arranged. He had a great time. He didn’t see Jarryd for the first couple of days, then saw him at a training session. Jarryd texted me saying he didn’t have to ask who Lewis was, he’d picked him from a mile off because of the resemblance.

At the start of 2017, when Jarryd played his first game back, he made sure we were there. Grant took along a visiting professor from overseas, I took Lewis, and we sat with Sarah and Cam and all of his family. That was one of the best days, just seeing him run out there. The feeling when he kicked a goal, the excitement and pride . . . He drove in to Peter MacCallum especially to drop off the tickets; he didn’t have to do that. I told him I’d pick them up, but he said, ‘No, no.’ And there he was in the foyer.

I’ve heard him call me his ‘cancer PA’, and I suppose that’s true in so far as making things go as smoothly as possible for him. In my mind it was more about trying to maintain his privacy – my motivation was minimising how much he was exposed to the big hospital world. I was involved in the care of Ron Walker too, another big, tall man who was very recognisable in Melbourne. Those privacy issues are important.

Jarryd never asked me to shield him from the public, but I went into protective mode because I didn’t want him to have to stop and talk to people all the time. He was there dealing with his own situation and I didn’t want him to feel like he had to be the big, friendly footballer in those moments.

But he’d stop anyway. He’d walk in to Peter Mac and people would acknowledge him, say, ‘Hey, Roughy, how are you going?’ He was always so nice to people. He’d stop every time, never brushed anyone off.

And he’d always turn it back to the other person. They’d say, ‘How’s your treatment going, Roughy?’, and he’d say, ‘We’re doing good things. What about yourself, what’s up with you?’ Some would tell him a little, others a lot. It was always the same interaction – giving minimal information about himself, but always making the other person feel important and special.

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