By Jordan Gerrans
Clayton Warren and his family have called the Darling Downs home for less than a year.
And, if the turn-up to Toowoomba’s Clifford Park on Thursday morning is any indication, then the QRIC steward has most certainly made his impact felt in a positive way in the region in a very short time.
Warren and his family hail from Townsville in the north of the state before relocating in January to pursue a new opportunity within the steward ranks in Queensland.
When Warren and his family made the call to move south, they had factored in everything that went along with their two-year-old son Isaac’s cystic fibrosis condition.
People from all facets of the racing industry – jockeys, trainers, stewards, sponsors, administrators and media, among others – gathered at Clifford Park’s pool on Thursday to support Warren, Isaac and others that suffer from cystic fibrosis.
“An event like this shows great unity within the racing industry in Toowoomba,” Toowoomba Turf Club CEO Lizzy King said.
Maddysen Sears trains in partnership with her father Tony on the Darling Downs and has enjoyed her experiences working around Warren through 2022.
“He is absolutely fantastic to deal with no matter the issue is, he puts on a brave front at the races with what is going on at home,” Sears said.
“It shows what type of person that Clayton is that he puts those personal things behind him at work and remains so professional towards everyone.
“He is very above board and I could not speak higher of Clayton, he is a very decent human.”
Sears and Warren were just two of many who united to "take the plunge" into the training centre pool at Clifford Park to raise much needed funds to support Cystic Fibrosis Queensland.
While Sears did not actually take the plunge herself – she is recovering from a recent health concern – she was on hand to support the rest that dived in head first.
They jumped into the pool and did a lap as quick as possible in cold Darling Downs conditions.
From birth, cystic fibrosis attacks the lungs, airways, endocrine system, and pancreas as the disease quite literally “takes your breath away”.
That was the aim of Thursday’s proceedings, industry participants jumping into a freezing cold pool to mimic what cystic fibrosis sufferers face every day.
King also has a personal touch point with CF, her 23-year-old niece Riley lives with the condition.
“It is about simulating the breathlessness that cystic fibrosis patients suffer every day,” King said.
“For us to that for a couple of minutes and be uncomfortable, it is a small thing to do for these people who go through it every day.”
For Warren, his life and that of his partner Andrea and daughter Charlotte were changed forever the day Isaac was diagnosed with CF.
“When he was born, he failed to thrive as the cystic fibrosis does not only impact the lungs, it is the pancreas as well,” Warren remembers.
“We had tests done and that came back that he had the CF.
“Everything was turned on its head from then when we found out when he was six weeks old.”
Statistics say a child is born with CF every four days while most will not live past their twenties and there is no cure.
It is all consuming for the Warren family.
“It is daily physio, he has had two operations for it, to clean his lungs out and that sort of stuff, as well as two different two week stays in hospital,” Warren said.
“He has had a month in hospital all up, on the IV and antibiotics and that kind of stuff, until you can get on top of it.
“It becomes the new normal but it is all the money as well, which Cystic Fibrosis Queensland helps out with, as well as travel and accommodation.”
With the plethora of industry identities taking the plunge into the pool, the aim was to raise funds for CF research, as well as awareness about the disease.
They successfully brought in $3,500 as of Thursday morning, with the opportunity for people to continue donating remaining open.
Having a child with CF can be a battle at times for a family like the Warren’s, but every dollar donated is sure to help them and others face the task daily.
“It can be tough at times as you have your routines but life gets in the way and you have to change your routines,” Warren says.
“He is only two and if you are not doing physio in the morning, then he has to do it in the afternoon, which he does not love as it is a bit harder.”
The Warren family are on the road to Brisbane from Toowoomba every three months for regular check-ups on Isaac’s condition.
While the funds raised will help, Warren is also hopeful events such as Thursday’s will keep the conversation going in the community around CF and raise more awareness.
Anyone can donate now, to the Toowoomba take the plunge fund-raiser by visiting this link here.