Nathan Charles is a 26-year-old Australian rugby player. The hooker is has four caps for his country, and is in with an outside chance of forcing his way into Michael Chieka's World Cup squad. By all means, he appears to be another ordinary rugby player.
Then you hear what he's been through. Charles suffers from a life-threatening disease called cystic fibrosis. It's a disease which affects the lungs and pancreas amongst other things, making breathing very difficult. Life expectancy for sufferers is very low.
It's not a disease that allows people to become athletes.
Which is why Nathan Charles isn't ordinary. He is the only professional sportsperson in the world ever that has this disease. But that's not why Charles isn't ordinary.
His form for his team the Western Force has been fantastic this season. His lineout throwing is exemplary, his defense outstanding and he's a handful in the loose. His form is a big reason why the Perth based franchise aren't the walkovers they once were.
Watch the inspirational video below that shows how far Nathan Charles has come since he was told as a kid that cystic fibrosis sufferers have a life expectancy of 17.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mbDNM1aJQY
You can find out more about Nathan Charles and watch the other videos including the story of how he told his teammates that he has cystic fibrosis
