Taking life to the Maxx

By Sarah Schwager and Rebecca Fraser
BERWICK’S Maxx Darby was not meant to live past his first birthday, but, more than a decade later, the talented basketball player has defied the odds.
Maxx has hypophosphatasia, which means his bones are very brittle and prone to breakages.
In February 1995, Maxx was reported in the Gazette after beating the odds and making it to his first birthday, showing little sign of the crippling disease as he fought for survival.
Maxx spent much of his first year of life in and out of hospital.
At two months of age, a lump was found in his kidneys, three months later his head swelled up and a month after that he suffered from pneumonia after being admitted to Monash Medical Centre.
It was only during his stay at the hospital that he was diagnosed with the rare bone disease.
At the time, there had only been three cases of the disease and Maxx was the only one to survive it.
Now, Maxx, 11, has much to live for.
The grade five student at St Catherine’s Primary School in Berwick was recently part of the winning under 14 Victorian wheelchair basketball team at the Pacific Games in Melbourne.
He spends 70 per cent of his time in a wheelchair but does not let this get in the way of his sporting ambitions.
He recently learned how to shoot hoops and said his basketball idols were Philadelphia 36ers player Allen Iverson and Campbell Message of the Australian Wheelchair Basketball Team.
He said he greatly enjoyed competing and meeting other players.
“It was fun meeting new people and basketball is my favourite sport,” he said.
“You can do lots of things and learn some tricky stuff.
“I just learnt how to shoot.”
Maxx’s mother, Raelene, said she was proud of her son’s achievements, and that sport was a family passion.
She was recently part of a silver medalwinning netball team at the Australian Masters Games in Adelaide and has keenly watched her son’s efforts.
“New South Wales was the only other under 14 wheelchair basketball team but they still played all week,” she said.
“He has also represented Victoria in numerous tournaments and played in Albury, Shepparton and Bendigo.
“He loves meeting other children and people in wheelchairs who understand his world.
“That way he knows he is not the only one.
“It is great for his selfesteem.
“It is his dream to play wheelchair basketball for Australia and now he is one step closer.
“This is really encouraging for him and is a fantastic achievement.”