Chris' Inspiration I'm Giving It A Whirl For My Girl

Brave Phoebe keeps the star on his toes!

- Lynley Ward

Cricket legend Chris Harris’ little daughter Phoebe just can’t resist clambering on the cauldronsized boulders lining the path of a Christchurch reserve, effortlessly bounding from one giant weathered stone to the next.

Twin brother Louie joins in, the fleet-footed pair chatting while they jump, prompting a warning from mum Linda to watch their step and not to get their clothes dirty!

It’s a familiar scene. A pair of eight-year-olds playing outside in a park after school. Except it isn’t when you realise the Dancing with the Stars contestant’s youngest daughter has a form of cerebral palsy called hemiplegia, which limits her ability to use her left side, after she was starved of oxygen at birth.

Faced with a raft of disabilities affecting her arm, leg, sight, speech and even internal organs, this wee battler, who was a tiny 1.3kg at birth, is defying the odds, although you’d be hard-pressed to see there is anything amiss.

But Chris, 48, and Linda, 52, are quick to laud Conductive Education – the small health charity that teaches children and adults with a range of disabilities the skills to meet everyday challenges – saying the programme has made a world of difference to their girl from the moment she was welcomed into the Christchurch centre at six months old.

As ambassador, Chris says he’s incredibly grateful the dancing show has given him a chance to raise the profile and much-needed funds for the organisation.