How Porter played through the pain (The Courier Mail)
How Scott Porter played through the pain
Phil Rothfield
March 17, 2010 11:00PM
SCOTT Porter is used to heartbreak and tragedy but he wasn't expecting it when his mobile phone rang last Friday night.
It's 8.30pm and he's at a mate's house watching Saints v Parramatta in the NRL season opener. His mobile phone rings and his dad's name appears on caller ID.
It's terrible, terrible news ... again.
Eight months after he found his mother dead inside her Cronulla home, the 25-year-old Sharks halfback learns his older sister Lisa has lapsed into a coma.
"Dad said she just passed out and fainted," Porter says of the dreaded phone call. "They were trying to resuscitate her at home.
"The ambulance came and took her to hospital. He said he'd call me back as soon as he could.
"I got another call half an hour later saying she'd passed away. It was a heart attack."
Somehow, less than 24 hours later, a shattered Porter found the incredible strength to take the field for the Sharks against premiers Melbourne.
"I guess everyone deals with this sort of thing differently," he says.
"It's very, very tough but somehow I knew my sister and my mum would both have wanted me to play. Straight away, you know what's happened, but it doesn't sort of sink in for a couple of days and then it hits you. I didn't want to let the team down. Ricky [Stuart] came around to see me on Saturday morning.
"He's been great with mum and now my sister. He came as a friend as much a coach and left the decision up to me. I really appreciated it. All the players have been really comforting. The whole club has been.
"I could have sat at home all night but playing football can help in that it takes your mind off things, even if it's only for an hour or so."
Across the game among players, officials and fans, the gutsy halfback has won respect and admiration for the courage he has shown in the face of such terrible misfortune.
On Tuesday when I picked my team-of-the-week on The Daily Telegraph website, there was one moving tribute on the blog: "You chose the wrong halfback - it should have been Scott Porter."
Storm players were equally moved.
"It was a great effort by him to show up," their skipper Cameron Smith said.
"You ask any other bloke and he would've said he wouldn't want to play. Obviously it shows how much the Sharks mean to him. We want to wish him all the best."
A funeral for Lisa, who was 38, will be held on Monday.
"The family has postponed it so I could play in New Zealand this weekend, again knowing it's what Lisa would have wanted," he said. "When things like this happen, you do lose focus. Of course you do. The past eight months ... to lose a mum and a sister have been really hard.
"Luckily I've had some wonderful support from friends and family. My dad has been great. He's also my best mate as well. He's always there for me. My girlfriend too. She's been such a rock. And the players. I couldn't get through without them."
And then there are the two beautiful little children Lisa has left behind - Scott's niece Tynesha, 6, and nephew Jack, 3.
"Aside from my dad, Lisa and her kids were my biggest fans," he says. "Jack doesn't know what's happened but the little girl does.
"They've got their jerseys with No. 7 and Porter on the back. They used to always come to our home games. Dad will still take them and look after them. It's what my sister would have wanted."
Source:http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rs...0797,26865385-5003409,00.html?from=public_rss
Attachment: Tragedy ... Scott Porter. Source: The Daily Telegraph