- BRAVE LAD: Coen Ashton travelled 2000km on a jet ski along the Murray River to raise awareness about organ donation. Picture: Tim Carrafa Source: The Courier-Mail
INSPIRING, determined, brave – these are just some of the words that have been used to describe 14-year-old Queenslander Coen Ashton.
On November 22 last year, the title Child of Courage was also bestowed upon him at the Pride of Australia National Ceremony in Sydney.
On that night, which he describes as “awesome”, he also took out the People’s Choice Award for travelling 2000km on a jet ski along the Murray River to raise awareness about organ donation.
A worthy and popular recipient, the young cystic fibrosis sufferer continues to wait for a double-lung transplant and, when well enough, continues to talk about the importance of organ donation.
“I still go to hospital every two to three weeks for a week or two,” Coen says, “but, when I can, I’ve been doing talks through Rotary and I’ve been trying to raise awareness through Transplant Australia and Zaidee’s Rainbow Foundation. I just try to help out where I can and when I can.”
In its eighth year, Pride of Australia 2012 launches today. The awards aim to highlight Australians who, like Coen, do extraordinary things in our communities.
They are our family, friends and community members who inspire us through their selfless actions, but whose actions often are not publicly recognised.
The 10 categories that you can nominate people for are: Outstanding Bravery, Courage, Heroism, Community Spirit, Child of Courage, Young Leader, Care and Compassion, Inspiration, Environment, and Fair Go. At the time of the National Ceremony, Coen and his family – parents Mark and Dawn, and brother Kai, 7 – had just moved to Melbourne from Maryborough in Queensland, to be close to a major hospital.
At the time they were living on their catamaran in Docklands. Earlier this year, some locals recognised Coen from the news reports.
“They saw him walking to the showers one day, pulled him over and asked how they could help him out,” says Dawn. “And they just said: ‘Can we run a fundraiser for you?’ It was amazing.”
The trivia night was held in February and the thousands of dollars raised allowed the Ashton family to move into an apartment, situated halfway between the Royal Children’s Hospital where he’s a regular visitor and the Alfred Hospital where he will be operated on when organs are available.
The community spirit shown by the locals helped lift the spirits of the family who admit that being displaced from family and friends for an unspecified amount of time has not always been easy.
But, as always, Coen’s positive outlook remains a constant inspiration.
“He’s just amazing,” says his proud mother. “No matter what the situation he’s always: ‘Yep, let’s go for it!’”
Next term, Coen is looking forward to returning to school for the first time in four years and the whole family remains optimistic for the future. “He’s doing really well,” says Dawn.
“We’re really happy that his health hasn’t declined. It gives us time to find that donor.”