For Newcastle fans, its a moment that will be forever etched in their minds. September 21, 2013 - the day the Knights overcame a nine-year hoodoo to defeat the Storm in Melbourne. Throw in the fact the win was a blockbuster semi-final and it was certainly a Knight to remember. You can still picture the scenes of pure joy now. Club legend Danny Buderus collapsing as the full-time siren blasted out, while the rest of the team ran from every direction on the field to embrace each other. For Jeremy Smith, though, this memorable victory was bittersweet. You see, while his teammates celebrated the historic win, Smith came off the field to the news that his wife Jody had just given birth to their fourth child more than 12 weeks prematurely, weighing 790 grams. Unbeknown to the Knights forward because of match duties, his wife had gone into labour on the day of the game. For Smith, the birth was the continuation of six weeks of uncertainty, worry and fear dating back to when his wife first went into hospital in August. His thought process had been dominated by questions like, Will my baby survive? and Will my wife be OK? So as much as he wanted to enjoy the spoils of victory over the Storm, he had other things to consider. My mind went into overdrive, Smith recalls. “I started obviously thinking about going home and I wasn’t worried about the game too much. “I just wanted to be back there with my family.” 10 weeks later, Cali Smith is still in John Hunter Childrens Hospital in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit but Smith says she has come a long way and is hopeful shell be home in the next few weeks. Cali is going great and putting on lots of weight, he beams. Flash back to August though and Smith wasnt feeling so assured. On the morning of the Knights round 22 clash against the Sharks in Cronulla, the Kiwi-born forward received a phone call from his wife saying she was going into early labour (20 weeks). She wanted me to come home straight away, he recalls. I was just sort of holding off (until the doctors could tell us what was happening) because I wanted to be a part of (Danny) Bedsy’s 250th and make it a memorable game for him. Then Jody went in to hospital and they put her on bed rest for six weeks. She ended up saying to me to stay and play, so I did. Newcastle won the match against the Sharks, centre Dane Gagai scoring a try in the dying stages to seal a thrilling victory. But just like the Melbourne match, it was bittersweet for Smith. On top of dealing with the uncertainty surrounding his wife, he also injured his sternum against the Sharks. But it was probably a blessing in disguise, he admits. I was out for four weeks, so I had plenty of time at home with our other kids (Marly, Evie and JJ). I could also see how Jody was going, whether she was going to have the baby or not. I was up and back to the hospital all day, in between looking after our three kids. Its amazing to think how Smith juggled football, kids and the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the health of his wife and their baby. The man himself credits the entire Knights organisation for helping him through one of the toughest periods in his life. From coach Wayne Bennett, right through to the trainers and staff members, the Club did everything in their power to make the situation easier. The club couldn’t have done enough for me, he enthuses. Wayne was wonderful through the tough times. Whenever I needed time off, they’d give me time off. They were just sort of working around me and I just did my best to be at training as much as I could, especially leading into the backend of the year. It was sort of tough and playing on my mind, but I just wanted to be a part of the team and the special things that we did towards the backend as well. Smith says he couldnt have got through this ordeal without the support of his wife Jody. She is an amazing woman, she has got a tower of strength and that’s what holds our family together, he says. She spent six weeks in hospital, but she was even doing all our grocery shopping online and also still paying the bills from her hospital bed. I call her our rock, she has been amazing for us. As difficult as it has been for Smith and his family, the Knights forward still has life very much in perspective. Football still carries on, but you’ve got a life at home that you’ve got to attend to first, he says. Everything around you carries on. It’s just one of those things, it’s a crazy world and I suppose the way life is. It will knock you down, but you’ve just got to keep getting back up. The Smith family is a living example of that.
Posted on: Sun, 01 Dec 2013 02:44:39 +0000
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