At 44, Griffett is fighting terminal stage four bowel cancer, which has now spread to his bones.
But after winning his way through to the Benalla Golf Club’s Open Men’s Championship final, nothing was going to stand in his way of achieving a life-long dream.
He said playing off for a championship was something he “had always wanted to do''.
And in achieving that he hoped to prove to himself, his family and friends, people can achieve anything they want if they don’t give up.
“It means the world to me, it’s just something I wanted to do because I won’t be around for much longer,” Griffett said.
“I’d never made one; you have kids and get busy, but as I’m not working, I’ve got all the time in the world now.”
Diagnosed in February 2019, Griffitt was given four-to-six months to live.
He relocated from Berwick to Benalla to be with his parents, who have lived there for 14 years.
From there he began receiving chemotherapy at Wangaratta.
And while he’s defied those initial odds, radiation treatment only prolongs his life, not saves it.
“The doctors can’t give me a time frame, but its incurable and I have ongoing treatment to keep me alive as long as possible,” Griffitt said.
The diagnosis was further compounded when Griffitt’s mother suffered a stroke and is now confined to a wheelchair.
“It’s been a bad run for us this last year,” he said.
After settling into Benalla, Griffitt, a lifelong golfer, thought he would have to give up the game he loves after he couldn’t make it around the course.
But eight months ago, he was back on the greens, this time with a buggy at his disposal and plenty of painkillers on hand to help him traverse the territory.
Since then he’s been a fixture at the club, and after beating last year’s champion in the semi-finals a fortnight ago, Griffitt said he was ecstatic to win through to the final.
“I was behind most of the day, but my opponent made a bad shot which let me back in,” he said.
“It was just a couple mistakes and I took advantage.
“I didn’t think I’d win, but I hung on. I was pretty happy with that.”
And while Griffitt may not have taken home the trophy on Sunday, his efforts in the final, and in life itself, have proven that all odds can be overcome when you set your mind to it.
***
More local sport
Little Aths is back
Shepparton snares netball star
Tallygaroopna capitalising on momentum
###
27°C