He suffers from a rare degenerative illness, and on Wednesday, Jordan Ablett shared a touching video of her son Levi standing up with some help from his dad, Gary.
In the video, the 37-year-old former Australian rules footballer can be seen encouraging his young son to stand up.
Gary knelt on the ground in front of the two-year-old, who laid on a towel in front of him, with his dad offering his hands for support.
Milestones: He suffers from a rare degenerative illness, and on Wednesday, Jordan Ablett shared a touching video of her son Levi standing up with some help from his dad, Gary
‘Up, up, up,’ Gary urged his young son, as he lifted his arms off the ground and took his father’s hands.
An excited Gary then helped little Levi into a sitting position, before helping him stand, as his excited family clapped and cheered him on.
As his supportive family celebrated his milestone, Levi couldn’t help but break into a huge smile.
Helping hand: In the video, the 37-year-old former Australian rules footballer can be seen encouraging his young son to stand up
‘As you can see, we celebrate the little things pretty hard in this family!’ Jordan captioned the sweet post.
In an interview with podcast The Significant Others in March, Jordan heartbreakingly revealed Levi’s degenerative illness carries a short life expectancy.
She said it took a long time for Levi to be diagnosed with the unspecified disease, and detailed the devastation she and Gary felt after learning the condition was ‘life threatening’.
Proud dad: Gary knelt on the ground in front of the two-year-old, who laid on a towel in front of him, with his dad offering his hands for support
‘I just remember sitting with Gaz in that meeting and when they said it I just remember absolutely breaking down,’ she said.
‘There is a very short life expectancy, which is why I constantly say to people when they ask about Levi that we are literally just taking it day by day because we have no idea what the future holds,’ she continued.
After seeing a series of paediatricians, Jordan said it was the Geelong Football Club’s team doctor who finally put them in contact with the right person.
Devastating: In an interview with podcast The Significant Others in March, Jordan Ablett (right) heartbreakingly revealed Levi’s degenerative illness carries a short life expectancy
She said this new paediatrician ‘got the ball rolling’, and after months of concerns, the couple, who married in 2016, finally had some answers.
Jordan said she and Gary first became concerned after noticing Levi wasn’t reaching the same milestones as other children his age.
They decided to go public with the little boy’s condition because they didn’t want to have to lie when people asked about their son.
Taking a stand: An excited Gary then helped little Levi into a sitting position, before helping him stand, as his excited family clapped and cheered him on
‘People would just say things like, “Levi must be running around now.” Comments like that are so fine to receive, but when you are on the receiving end and you know everything that is going on it’s awkward,’ she confessed.
‘We don’t want to lie and be like, “Yeah, he’s running around,” because he wasn’t running around.’
Jordan said Levi’s condition has only made the family more aware of how precious every moment they have together is.
‘As you can see, we celebrate the little things pretty hard in this family!’ Jordan captioned the sweet post
