Jarrad McVeigh has spoken publicly for the first time about the tragic death of his month old baby daughter, Luella, and thanked the Swans’ family and the entire AFL community for the support he received during the most difficult time of his life.
Jarrad says he and wife Clementine will never forget their little girl, Luella, who died last August after being born with heart, lung and circulation complications.
Now he wants to share the news that Clementine is pregnant, that the pregnancy is progressing well, and they are expecting another little girl in July this year.
“We will never forget Luella but we want to be parents again, we want to be a family,’’ Jarrad told sydneyswans.com.au.
“You can sit around and wait and be depressed and not want to do anything but we’re not the type of people to be like that.’’
At the end of the 2011 AFL season the couple went on a two month overseas trip to spend time together healing after the devastating loss of Luella.
“When we were in Italy on our trip away we found out we were pregnant, so it was a sad time but a happy time also,’’ Jarrad said. “You ask yourself if you are doing the right thing, are we forgetting about her? But we know that is not the case.
“She will always be with us but it is important for us to have more babies in our family. The baby is due in early July, the same month Luella was born.’’
Jarrad and Clementine endured a terrible year, which began last January when scans showed that their unborn baby had fluid around her heart and may have heart problems.
They travelled to the Sydney Children’s Hospital at Westmead every two weeks to check the baby’s progress but were unsure about the exact nature of Luella’s problems until she was born in July.
“The hardest part for Clementine was when Luella was born and she was only able to spend a couple of minutes with her before she was taken away to the intensive care unit and the wires and tubes go in and they start trying to get the best course of action straight away,’’ Jarrad recalled.
A week after her birth, Luella had a 10 hour heart operation. It was the first of four operations for the baby as doctors did all they could to give her the best chance.
There were ups and downs during that month but Jarrad and Clementine stayed by Luella’s side and were able to bond with their baby, who would open her eyes and gaze at them and respond to their voices and touch.
In the end, doctors found Luella also had problems with her lungs and her circulation, and there was nothing more anyone could do.
“The doctors said that eventually whatever way it would go, Luella would tell us if she was improving or if she was declining and in the end that is what happened,’’ Jarrad said.
“She was up and down throughout the whole month until the last week when everything dramatically declined and we found out there was severe brain damage as well, from the trauma of so many operations.’’
Jarrad said it was a very hard time, but the couple received wonderful support from their families, friends, team-mates, Swans’ fans and the entire AFL community.
“It was the hardest thing we both have ever had to go through. It is something you don’t wish on anyone, but there are so many people going through the same thing.
“We received a lot of support from everyone and it really did help us and did make us feel better.
“The doctors and the nursing staff at the hospital, they were really great people and did whatever they could for us and allowed us to be a part of all the decisions and the process. We do owe a lot to them,’’ Jarrad said.
“The coaching staff, especially Horse (John Longmire) and the players and the staff at the club were unbelievable in that time.
“We had thousands of cards and letters and emails from supporters and we did read every single one of them. It did make us feel better and we thank everyone for the support, and thank the AFL and the AFL community as well, as players from all the different clubs provided us with some form of support which was really special.’’
After Luella was born, Jarrad still managed to participate in most training sessions and to play some games, including the round 22 match against St Kilda where he was one of the Swans’ best players in a stirring victory.
“It was just a bit of a blur, I don’t really remember a lot. We moved out to Westmead after Luella was born. We were lucky enough to get an apartment across the road from the hospital, we had a kitchen and could cook meals which was handy, a lot of people don’t have that and we were lucky,’’ he said.
“Playing footy was just a couple of hours out of the day. I think I’ve always been a strong person mentally and I can cope with things and it was just two hours out of the day where I could play and then go back and continue what Clementine and I had to do.
“It was probably harder for Clementine who didn’t really have a release like that. Clementine just wanted to be a mother.’’
When Luella died, the entire club was in mourning.
Three days later, Jarrad’s team-mates went down to Geelong and beat the Cats by 13 points at Skilled Stadium, becoming the first opposition side to win there for four years.
At the time, an emotional co-captain Adam Goodes said he hoped the win may have cheered Jarrad and Clementine for just a moment.
Jarrad says it did lift their spirits.
“We sat down and watched that game, and Clementine doesn’t watch much footy. It actually put a smile on Clementine’s face and on my face. It was a good moment,’’ he said.
“It was good to see for a group of people who have been behind you, and stuck with you, and been such good people to us. I’m not sure if it was the reason why they won, but the boys said that during the week they definitely had this feeling nothing was going to stop them.’’
Jarrad has been training hard this pre-season and is looking forward to the 2012 season and all that lies ahead for he and Clementine.
It’s been the most terrible ordeal, and it has put things into perspective for him.
“When you become a father a lot changes. I don’t worry about as much anymore and I don’t whinge about a lot of stuff because it’s quite insignificant to worry about things you can’t control. You just get it done, there is no point whinging about stuff that doesn’t matter.’’
Jarrad McVeigh pays tribute to daughter Luella after kicking a goal in last year's Semi Final |