Gary Ablett Jr.’s wife Jordan says ‘knowledge is power’ when it comes to their son’s health battle

Jordan Ablett has spoken about the importance of parents being armed with information when it comes to their child’s health.

In an interview with the Herald Sun on Friday, the wife of former Australian rules footballer Gary Ablett Jr. spoke about her own experience parenting the couple’s two-year-old son, Levi.

Levi was diagnosed with a rare degenerative illness last year, after months of Jordan and Gary, 37, searching for answers. 

‘From a medical point of view, the best advice we’ve been given is that “knowledge is power”,’ said Jordan. 

‘It breaks my heart when I think about all of the parents who are still seeking answers for their children, knowing that there is a problem going unaddressed.

‘You can’t offer the best care and treatment for a child without clarity on the condition you’re facing. Despite how hard it was to hear of Levi’s diagnosis, it was the most important step for us to be able to move forward in the right direction.’

Jordan recently established House of Hope, an online community for parents who may be in a similar situation to connect. 

She said she wants the forum to be ‘a place of great support and connection, for relationships and friendships to be established, to open the communication channels, and to celebrate these parents who are superheroes’.

Speaking about her own son, Jordan said ‘Levi is doing really well at the moment’, and revealed he loves going for walks along the beach in his pram. 

‘We’re really proud of him as he continues to show great courage and bravery as he faces the challenges unique to him,’ she added.  

Earlier this month, Jordan revealed Levi was back in hospital for a routine check-up, sharing a photo of the little boy cuddling up to his dad.

The photo appeared to have been taken in a hospital waiting room, with Jordan listing The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne as the location. 

Jordan didn’t provide any additional information, simply captioning the photo with two blue love heart emojis. 

Last month, the mum-of-one also shared a touching video of Levi standing up with some encouraging help from his famous dad. 

Gary knelt on the ground in front of his little boy, who laid on a towel in front of him, with his dad offering his hands for support. 

‘Up, up, up,’ Gary urged his young son, who 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 the milestone, Levi couldn’t help but break into a huge and adorable smile.  

‘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’. 

‘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.

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.

‘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.