Telethon 2024: Ex-Eagles star Nic Naitanui reunites with Little Telethon Star Nate at Crown Perth

When this year’s Little Telethon Stars were given the keys to the kingdom at Crown Perth, Nate Fearnall greeted Eagles legend Nic Naitanui like an old friend.

That’s because they are.

The now eight-year-old, who spent the first seven months of his life in hospital after he was born with a rare lung condition, has known Nic Nat since before he was first discharged from hospital.

Nate spent his first two months on life support and a further seven in hospital after being born with pulmonary lymphangiectasia, a rare developmental condition which causes abnormally wide lymphatic vessels in the lungs.

He had a rough start to life as multiple strokes left him with cerebral palsy, and missing vessels in his upper body continue to cause him trouble. His aorta continues to block, which has so far led to six surgeries during his short life.

At eight months he was diagnosed with hydrocephalus, an abnormal build-up of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain, and needed brain surgery to insert a permanent shunt.

Naitanui had already left his mark on the Fearnall family before that vital brain surgery — meeting Nate when a group of Eagles visited Princess Margaret Hospital.

“We first met Nic when Nate was about six months old,” Nate’s mum Kellie said.

“He hadn’t been home from the hospital at that stage, and some of the Eagles came to the hospital, we got a photo of Nic holding Nate as a baby.”

After running a few impromptu drills in the Crown Metropol lobby, Naitanui reflected on the pair’s first meeting — and photo — that Nate holds dear to this day.

A fresh Eagles draftee, he accompanied former head coach John Worsfold and his wife to the hospital in the hope of eliciting a grin or two from kids and families who may have been struggling to find reasons to smile.

“I met these guys in hospital just after he was born and struggling early days — to see him moving around and kick a footy with me, popping out of his wheelchair to do that, it’s inspirational,” Naitanui said.

The family has remained close to the club, even travelling with the playing group to Sydney last year as “big Eagles fans”.

“It’s nice to see that progression as the guys have gone on and caught up with him again,” Kellie said.

Now a father-of-two himself, Naitanui admitted he does “feel a bit old sometimes” following the development of kids like Nate, but it’s also the reason he keeps coming back to Telethon.

“Having two young ones myself, I couldn’t think of how to get through some of the situations these guys do. So I draw a lot of inspiration,” he said.

Nate and his fellow Little Telethon Stars, Nazeem Fahmi, Florence Shanks and Charlee Hosking, took on the luxury staycation at Crown in style, enjoying a high tea with Naitanui and star of Hairspray The Musical, Rob Palmer.

Fat Cat provided his very best chauffeur services as they made their way around the grounds, and the young stars’ bags were carefully attended to by resident bellboy of the day, Premier Roger Cook.

“Our Little Telethon Stars are exactly that — stars. And they deserve the star treatment,” Mr Cook said.

“Which is why it was my absolute privilege to play a small part in ensuring that is exactly what our Little Telethon Stars received when we met for the first time.

“And I have a suspicion that is the type of star treatment Charlee, Nazeem, Nate and Florence are in for over the next week or so.”

The dapper bellboy also revealed he was nearly in dire straits when he couldn’t find the final piece of his outfit.

“I’ll leave it up to others to judge how I looked in that outfit,” the Premier said.

“Thankfully, one of the real porters at Crown lent me their hat because we struggled to find one that fit my head.”

Both the Premier and Naitanui agreed that Fat Cat’s immense star power was set to reach new heights when the awesome foursome take on their big weekend in the spotlight.

“Charlee, Nazeem, Nate and Florence are fantastic ambassadors who I have no doubt will do Telethon proud when they represent the children of WA next weekend, in what promises to be one of the best Telethon weekends ever,” Mr Cook said.

And Naitanui’s advice was simple: just soak it all in.

“Smile and wave, be yourself, enjoy it. I think the biggest thing is just to embrace it and really love it. That’s what I’ve told them,” he said.

Telethon is on Saturday, October 19, and Sunday, October 20, and will be broadcast live on 7 and 7+. You can make a donation to Telethon here.