Nick Riewoldt: ‘We will never stop loving Maddie.’

Maddie Riewoldt loved the simple things in life.

“She loved the beach, she loved her dog Oscar, family time at home, family dinners. She loved sport, all sport,” according to her older brother, St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt.

In fact, the 26-year-old was such an avid AFL fan, she watched her brother play from her hospital bed mid-chemotherapy.

Much to the devastation of the Riewoldt family and football community, Maddie lost her five-year battle with aplastic anemia (a rare disease that causes the body to stop producing vital bone marrow) on February 23.

Nick says his younger sister was robbed of everything she enjoyed at when she was diagnosed with the rare condition at just 21 – a time when “life’s supposed to be about opportunity and adventure”.

Related: St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt’s sister Madeleine dies, aged 26.

He says he remembers three versions of Maddie: from before she was sick, once she was diagnosed, and during her gruelling final seven months in hospital.

Nick says Maddie loved her friends and family, and fought against the odds to fight the disease – leaving behind a legacy that inspired the social media hashtag #FightLikeMaddie.

“But as hard and fierce as she loved us, she equally hated her illness with the same ferocity,” he said.

Maddie underwent a bone marrow transplant – her only hope of ever leading a normal life – as well as chemotherapy and other treatments. But within a week of the transplant, her body began to react badly and she was rushed to hospital.

Her parents told the Herald Sun that, with a stay of 227 days, Maddie had the misfortune of breaking the record for the longest time a patient had spent at Royal Melbourne Hospital’s intensive care unit.

At the end, she was barely recognisable.

“You wouldn’t think a body could be that ravaged,” her father, Joe, said.

On Christmas Day last year, the family were told she may not make it through the day after a sudden downturn.

Nick says the emotional and mental setbacks of missing out on special family events – her birthday, the AFL Grand Final, the birth of her nephew, James, and then Christmas Day – on top of her physical challenges became too much for her.

But after a week in an induced coma, Maddie pulled through.

It was just one of the several occasions on which the Riewoldt family were told to prepare for the worst.

Nick says during her time in hospital, she “deteriorated to the point of becoming unrecognisable”.

“She couldn’t walk, she couldn’t talk… she couldn’t move her feet, wasn’t allowed to drink and was constantly in pain. Every day was a struggle, she would beg and plead with us to give her sip of water or give her an ice cube or to turn her oxygen up so she could breathe a little bit easier. But we couldn’t do anything to help her.”

He said, in mid-January, Maddie gave one final push and improved significantly – to the point her tracheotomy was removed, allowing her to speak after months of silence.

“She could talk, it was just such a simple thing, to be able to hear her voice after four or five months was amazing,” he said.

Following her tremendous improvement, Maddie was just days from moving to a regular ward. She met her little nephew James for the first time. She talked about how she looked forward to taking her beloved dog for a walk, going for a swim and starting a charity to help others with bone marrow failure.

It was the last conversation she ever had with her family.

A few days later, she developed an infection.

And just days after that, she passed away surrounded by love ones in her hospital bed.

To honour Maddie’s wishes, the Riewoldt family launched Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision – a foundation to increase awareness and funding of the particularly under-resourced disease – last month.

Watch some of the heartfelt speeches by Nick and his mother, Fiona (post continues after video):

“It just doesn’t feel real, but it is,” Nick said.

“And there are others facing the same challenges right now. And there will be others tomorrow and others the week after that. And it’s just horrific.

“We will never stop grieving for Maddie because we will never stop loving her and that’s just how it is – grief and love, they’re conjoined.

“All we can do is be inspired by her courage and know that she suffered so others might not have to suffer.”

You can donate at the organisation’s website here or by texting 0437 371 371.

Sunday’s St Kilda v Richmond match at Etihad stadium has been named ‘Maddie’s Match’ (her cousin, Jack Riewoldt plays for Richmond). A portion of every ticket will go towards Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision.