Jonathon Mannah
As Tim Mannah faces the game of his life, brave Jon will cheer him onCourier MailThe rookie
Cronulla forward who moved from Parramatta to the Shire in search of an opportunity last November made his
NRL debut in April and went on to star
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As Tim Mannah faces the game of his life, brave Jon will cheer him on
By James Hooper
October 04, 2009 12:01am
AMONG the glazed eyes and adrenalin in the Parramatta dressing-room around 3pm today, rookie prop Tim Mannah will find inspiration in a silent prayer for his younger sibling, Jon.
A world away from the biggest game of his life, Tim Mannah will pause and reflect about the dark hours when the chemotherapy hits and the headaches start and the nausea sets in - and he will say thank you.
Thank you for giving Jon the strength to fight Hodgkin's lymphoma with such a determined, positive attitude.
Thank you to the doctors at St Vincent's Hospital, who delayed Jon's third round of chemotherapy so he could cheer his brother towards a premiership ring from the ANZ Stadium grandstand today, along with his other two brothers, Danny and Jamil.
And, finally, thank you for allowing the Eels to make the journey from wooden-spoon contenders in May to the grand final.
"Seeing Jonny go through that and seeing how much he loves his footy, how much he'd love to be out there playing footy, makes you feel grateful that you've got a healthy body,'' Tim said.
"Not only that you can play sport, but you can be active. It does put things in perspective.''
Jon has had his own battle to make it to the grand final.
"After Parramatta made it through I was a bit worried because I had a treatment scheduled for Thursday,'' Jon said. "But I spoke to my doctor and he and I both agreed on a decision to wait for a week so that I can enjoy this time and the game."
"I try to avoid crowded places because of the risk of infection, but I'll make an exception for the grand final.''
The fight inside Jon will perhaps serve as Tim's greatest strength when he takes on the Storm. They are from a tight-knit, deeply religious family, where Danny and Tim share one room and Jon and Jamil share another.
Diagnosed with cancer 44 days ago, Jon's beaming smile and broad shoulders defy the pain of self-injecting needles to maintain his immune system and increase his white blood cell count.
The telephone at the Mannahs' Condell Park residence has been ringing off the hook since August 28. And the question has been just how is Jon handling his cancer?
"My family, my friends and the amount of support I've got, it's been like everyone is sort of carrying this illness with me. It makes it so much easier. The doctors found it early and got on to it straight away,'' Jon said.
"Of course, there's the rough patches where you get home from treatment and you don't want to see anyone. You're in pain, you've got headaches, food is not appealing. But that's all to be expected. They explained all that to me."
"Anyone that's been through it will know what I'm talking about. It's just not a good feeling. It's nausea, it's pain, you feel very sick.''
The rookie Cronulla forward who moved from Parramatta to the Shire in search of an opportunity last November made his NRL debut in April and went on to star in 12 games.
By July, he had a cracked vertebrae in his back and when the injury showed no signs of healing, Sharks doctor Dave Givney sounded the alarm.
A trip to Australia's leading spinal surgeon, Richard Parkinson, highlighted a couple of "hot spots''.
Further tests on bone marrow confirmed Mannah had Hodgkin's lymphoma, the same illness Delta Goodrem beat in 2003.
While Sharks coach Ricky Stuart and chief executive Richard Fisk have given Mannah unconditional time off to fight the illness, he has a goal to be back playing next year.
"When the doctor diagnosed me, he encouraged me to set a goal for next year. So my goal is that I'll be playing in the NRL again,'' Mannah said. "I'm not sure about round one, but I'd love to be back out there."
"I've got my last bout of chemo scheduled just before Christmas. I haven't actually posed that question to the doc about when I can return to training, but he said to me that it was a reasonable goal to be playing next year.''
Since that day in August, Mannah has been reading Lance Armstrong's book, "It's Not About the Bike''.
"After my first treatment I was reading exactly what I was going through, which kind of helped,'' Mannah said. "I put things in perspective about how many people have cancer and how seriously it affects people."
"I'm quite lucky I don't have it as bad as others. It made me realise that once I get through this, I definitely want to help people going through the same thing.''
After chemotherapy, Mannah has lost up to 7kg, but then on the off-weeks, when he is not scheduled for treatment, the Sharks forward feels completely normal.
It's those days when Mannah will find a quiet place in his room, turn to his Bible and pray.
"There's times when I wonder if there is actually anything wrong with me. It's times like that when I've really got to practise my faith in God and the doctors he's placed in my care,'' he said.
"That's when I really dig deep and have faith in God. During the days after chemo I lose my appetite and my taste buds go all funny."
"I do lose a few kilos. The most I've lost so far is seven kilograms. But then when I get my appetite back I put it back on when I start to feel better.''
Before he travels to Homebush today, Mannah will find a quiet corner in the bedroom and talk to God. He will ask for recovery, for strength and, of course, for Tim to win a grand final.
"Yeah for sure. I've been praying for my recovery and praying for my attitude to stay the way that it is,'' he said. ``I've been praying that if I can influence anyone that it is in a positive way."
"If I can glorify God through what I'm going through, then that's pretty much the reason he put me through what I'm going through.''