‘You’ve got this’: NBA star Ben Simmons backs sister Liv to be strong for daughter Savannah

NBA star Ben Simmons has backed sister Liv to stay strong as she and her partner face a battle to help their daughter overcome a rare brain condition, with a simple text from the Aussie basketballer delivering crucial comfort as she struggled to cope.

MELBOURNE-born NBA superstar Ben Simmons’ simple text delivered crucial comfort as his sister struggled to cope with her newborn’s dire health.

“Here for you Liv. You really are the strongest person I know and I’m proud to call you my big sis. Love you,” the Rookie of the Year texted before jumping on the next plane out of the US to see her.

Liv Simmons had just given birth to her beautiful baby girl Savannah, but two days later her daughter was diagnosed with a rare brain condition, crashing Liv’s world and early joys of motherhood.

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Ben Simmons holding his niece Savannah at two weeks old. Picture: Supplied

She held Savannah for only 2.5 minutes before an alarm went off and 15 doctors and nurses filled the birthing suite at Box Hill Hospital.

“To be honest we all knew something was off as she was floppy and her heart rate was a bit off,” she said.

Savannah was taken to Monash Children’s Hospital, where Liv was told her baby had vein of Galen malformation — a blood vessel abnormality in the brain.

“I was listening to the doctors talk and just waiting to hear what we can do to fix it, but then I heard the mortality rate and then I didn’t hear anything,” she told the Herald Sun.

“I was devastated and I just wanted to take the pain away from her.

“I went into complete shock and I wasn’t OK. All I wanted was a healthy baby.”

#savvystrong 🖤💝 pic.twitter.com/Epw1y1fAEP

— Liv Alice Simmons (@livvalice) June 22, 2018

Liv was contemplating downplaying what was happening to Savannah because Ben worried a lot and she knew he had a lot on his plate — he had just played NBA playoffs, was about to be crowned the league’s best new player and had a new high-profile romance with supermodel and reality TV star Kendall Jenner.

But the 26-year-old was unable to do it in this instance — she needed her baby brother by her side.

“We are very close and family is extremely important to us. He just wanted to know what he could do to help,” she said.

“I said ‘if you can take some time out of your busy schedule I’d love to have you here’. He said ‘I’ll be on the next plane, I wouldn’t be anywhere else in the world’.

“He kind of normalises things for me and I need things to be as normal as possible right now.”

Liv has latched onto her strong family ties to get through her darkest of days.

She refuses to cry in front of Savannah, but admits to sitting in her room for up to 10 minutes just crying.

“I think the one thing we had to keep in mind was I had to be strong for her because she couldn’t be strong at the moment,” she said.

“There were days I was very sad, but I couldn’t fall in a heap for the sake of my daughter.

“I’d rather be feeding her all the positive energy and taking away all the good things she is doing.”

Liv had a healthy pregnancy, but is now playing back each day of the past nine months, looking for answers.

“Is it me? What did I do? What did I eat? What environment was I in?” she said.

Little Savannah, or Savvy Strong as her grandma has dubbed her, came home last week after spending one month in hospital.

She is doing all the things babies her age do, and her mum jokes she can even challenge the boys in the pub to a good burping competition.

But Liv and partner Thadd Varmall are tasked with being more than just mum and dad.

Liv Simmons and partner Thadd Varmall hold Savannah. Picture: David Caird

They need to keep their daughter healthy and stable up until the six-month mark, where if all is well she can undergo life-changing surgery.

Savannah’s breathing needs to be monitored because it can trigger her little heart to fail, and she needs to be putting on weight to get her strong for surgery.

She will have two or three operations — but even after then it’s a game of cruel odds, as only one in three survive. Others go on to have brain damage.

“I’ll be playing the waiting game for a few years,” Liv said.

“I just want her to be healthy and to be the beautiful young woman she can be. But getting through the next six months is all I care about.”

Ben’s stardom made Liv a subject of backlash and nasty words on social media when she went public with Savannah’s illness with a picture of her brother holding his two-week-old niece.

I’ve been blessed to have a man like this.
We love you so much @hoop_dreams23 #mumdad #SavvyStrong pic.twitter.com/ng4XewdXkd

— Liv Alice Simmons (@livvalice) July 14, 2018

Liv Simmons and partner Thadd Varmall hold Savannah. Picture: David Caird

She had to take herself off Twitter and Instagram as words got too vile and personal.

“That really hurt me. But the doctor told me it was nothing that I did, it is just bad luck” she said.

“Those people don’t know me and what sort of pregnancy I had. When you are in the spotlight, and I have been pushed there because of Ben, people just want to bring you down.”

Liv admits she and her girl have a long road ahead of them and can now only have short term goals.

Savannah’s condition is so rare that even at a time of mass social media, there are only 900 members on Facebook support site for parents facing the same battles and heartache.

In the meantime, Liv will continue to be the strength her needs need and feed her the good vibes of all those around her.

“It’s a love story that keeps unfolding and I feel honoured to tell and to bring awareness,” she said.

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