BEST BUDDIES: Jack Campbell, 6, with his big sister Morgan, 9.
Jack Campbell lives in a world where limits are placed on him at every turn.
Beautifully, however, the young Bolwarra Heights boy places few restrictions on himself.
Born on September 1, 2005, with a rare congenital heart defect, Jack was not expected to live beyond his first weeks.
But true to form, he not only survived but thrived, and will next month undergo a four-hour procedure to replace the donor valve in his heart.
“This is the operation we’ve been waiting for. We had to wait for his heart not to cope anymore and we’ve reached that point,” Jack’s mother, Melissa Campbell, said.
“We don’t know what Jack’s going to be like after this transplant and we can’t wait find out.
“Jack thinks he’s going to be some sort of bionic man. We try to tell him that he’ll have more energy, but he thinks he’ll have this extreme athletic ability.
“He’s like this little pocket rocket and he’s amazed us with what he can do and what he can put up with.
“But then there are times when he can’t understand why he can’t run as fast as the other kids.”
Jack has critical aortic stenosis, one of the rarest congenital heart defects and after his birth he was sent home with palliative care.
But following a risky operation Jack’s heart began to respond and his survival expectancy skyrocketed to 80 per cent.
“We can’t understand how Jack can run around and do everything that he does with the amount of pressure on his heart, but this way of life is all Jack has ever known,” Mrs Campbell said.
And right by Jack’s side is his sister Morgan.
“We’ve always told Morgan [9] the truth about Jack and she’s very protective of him,” Mrs Campbell said.
“They are very close; they do fight, but Morgan is so good with Jack. It’s unbelievable.
“ They are both like older people trapped in kids’ bodies . . . they’ve been here before.”
n Morning Show co-host David Campbell has visited the Campbells to film a segment for the Channel Nine program. Jack will appear on the program at a later date.