The wife of retired AFL superstar Gary Ablett Jnr has posted an adorable photo of her husband on his birthday with their son Levi.
In the heart-tugging image, Ablett, now 37, can be seen helping little Levi, who is bravely fighting a mystery illness.
The youngster undergoes physiotherapy each day, in a bit to combat the rare degenerative disease he is living with. Tragically, Levi also has a reduced life expectancy.
‘Happy Birthday to my husband. You are someone who I love deeply and truly admire,’ Jordan Ablett wrote on Instagram on Friday.
Retired footy great Gary Ablett Jnr (pictured left) with his son Levi, who is battling a rare disease
‘I don’t have the words to give enough credit to the man, husband and father you are… Thank you for the way you love our family wholeheartedly and unconditionally and for the way you give Levi every opportunity to flourish in this world.
‘How blessed we are to have you.’
On Thursday night, footy superstar Gary Ablett Jr opened up about Levi’s rare illness, before sharing footage of the brave youngster loving life at an AFL clinic.
Speaking on Channel Nine’s Who Wants to Be A Millionaire TV quiz show on Thursday night, Ablett spoke about Levi’s disease, which remains unspecified.
‘He is a beautiful boy with a pretty serious condition,’ the two-time AFL premiership winner with the Geelong Cats told host Eddie McGuire.
‘We are seeing some improvement, and Levi is having physiotherapy each day.
‘The great thing about Levi is that he is a very determined boy and always happy. He brings so much joy to our lives.’
Ablett appeared on the popular game show as part of a Sports Stars episode, alongside AFLW star Tayla Harris.
Both athletes as well as the likes of basketball legends Andrew Gaze and Lauren Jackson worked in pairs, with the money they won passed on to their nominated charity.
Following a montage of his glittering on-field career with Geelong and Gold Coast, Ablett, 36, was beaming after a clip showing him lovingly carrying Levi at a school footy clinic in Queensland last year was aired.
Ablett retired after the AFL grand final last year, with the classy midfielder widely regarded as one of the greatest players ever seen in the sport.
Last weekend, Levi’s mum Jordan Ablett had a very special treat for her son – meeting The Wiggles in person.
On Monday, the footy WAG shared sweet videos of little Levi in Gary’s arms as the famed children’s group performed in front of him.
Jordan captioned the video jokingly: ‘I think the life size version was a little too much’.
She also shared a sweet photo of the proud parents posing with their son and The Wiggles.
‘Wow special spending yesterday morning with @thewiggles. I think if we were to be honest with ourselves we were all a little starstruck, not just the kids,’ she wrote.
So sweet! Jordan Ablett had a very special treat for her son on Sunday. The wife of former AFL player Gary Ablett Jr took Levi, two, to meet The Wiggles in person. All pictured
Jordan captioned the video jokingly: ‘I think the life size version was a little too much’
‘I know Levi’s not smiling here but I know his heart would have been absolutely beaming! Thank you @thewiggles for creating such a memorable experience for the kids (and us!)’
It comes after Jordan spoke out about the rare degenerative illness Levi suffers from.
Jordan 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 on the podcast The Significant Others.
Illness: It comes after Jordan spoke out about the rare degenerative illness Levi suffers from
Retired footy great Gary Ablett Jnr with his son Levi – the brave youngster has a mystery disease, but continues to fight hard
‘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.
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.
Brave: 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
Tragically, Levi (pictured as a bay) has a short life expectancy, with his proud parents Gary and Jordan relishing every moment with their son