Scarred but not scared

Matt Golinski with childhood burn survivors Matthew Thiele and Tom Moore and KIDS Founder and Director Dr Susie O’Neil hanging out at Noosa''s View Restaurant.

By Hollie Harris

When Matthew Thiele and Caloundra’s Tom Moore found the KIDS Foundation, they were finally able to smile again.

View Restaurant chef Matt Golinski recently sat down with burn survivors and KIDS Foundation ambassadors Matthew and Sunny Coast local Tom for a chat about survival, operations, the Noosa Triathlon and child safety.

Matt’s story of survival and triumph has been public knowledge for some time and it was quite a thrill for local teenager Tom Moore, who was burnt in a house fire at the age of 3, enduring over 150 surgeries, to meet him in person.

After life-long pain in his right leg, the recommended treatment is an expensive amputation and prosthetic. Tom’s story inspired the KIDS Foundations to embark on a mission to raise funds for an operation to improve his life and they ended up raising over $45,000. And so, after a long and painful journey, Tom is booked in to undergo a life-changing surgery – an osseo-integration. The procedure involves amputation below the knee, placing a titanium rod inside his tibia so that a prosthetic leg will click onto the rod.

“After being in pain for so many years, I am so excited to try this,” Tom said. “It’s time.”

The operation will give Tom a huge improvement in his quality of life and he expects to be up and walking in days.

“They have said I will be fully recovered after only three weeks,” he said.

“I will be able to do a lot of things I can’t do now.”

Nineteen year old Matthew Thiele was trapped in a car fire when he was three. He sustained full thickness burns to just over 30 per cent of his body. The most severe burns were to his face, head and hands. Mathew was in hospital for three-and-a-half months and his prognosis was not good.

Matthew had already fought so hard that his family held out hope that he would improve and after two weeks, he was able to survive independently. He has needed many skin grafts and has lost parts of all his fingers. Today, as he grows, he still must endure many operations for skin releases, as well as operations on his legs where the bones were affected by the infections.

Matthew is supported by the KIDS Foundation. He attends camps and other programs KIDS offers young survivors and is the KIDS Foundations youth ambassador.

One of his greatest achievements is that since being introduced to karate at camp, he has just recently gained his black belt.

This inspirational young man has come full circle, that’s for sure.

“I didn’t like to go outside at all and, if I did, I would only go to school or church. Those were the places I was most comfortable with,” Matthew said.

“People used to stare at me and run away. I knew I wasn’t normal. These days, I don’t mind if they look, I would too.”

But once he discovered the KIDS Foundation, Matthew realised he had nothing to be afraid of.

“I started to go out of my comfort zone and began to really live my life. I found myself meeting new people and making good friends.

“KIDS has done a lot for me. They’ve helped me build up my confidence to speak and therefore help raise funds in the process.

“The KIDS Foundation has helped me to feel loved and supported. Now I’m going in triathlons!”

This month, he proudly crossed the finish line of the Noosa Triathlon after taking on the monumental 10km running leg of the race.

Injury is still the leading cause of death in Australia. Each week in Australia, on average 35,000 children will attend a hospital emergency department, 1300 will be admitted, and five children will die from injury.

The KIDS Foundation have fared well with federal funding and are able to target 10,000 kinders across Australia with their safety program. They also host camps and support programs across the country for kids who have sustained any type of injury, not just burns.

Their mission is to keep children safe and create a better life for those living with serious injury and burns.

The KIDS Foundation has been operating since 1993 and has an amazing story to tell, with a number of highly successful programs making a significant positive impact on the lives of many children and their families.

  • Injury Prevention programs educate and empower children to keep themselves safe while still allowing them be kids. Educating preschool children through the SeeMore Safety Program is the focus. Other programs include IF (Injury Free) Day.
  • Injury Recovery programs support young people to cope with the physical and emotional after-effects of living with burns and other serious life-changing injuries. The foundation hosts injury recovery camps, leadership workshops and the National Burn Survivors’ Network.
  • Research clearly demonstrates that when children are given the right learning opportunities and experiences, they build a foundation of knowledge that equips them with capabilities they need to become competent risk-takers and manage their safety in everyday life and activities.
  • KIDS Foundation is an active member of the Childhood Injury Prevention Alliance (CHiPA), which is a high profile team of clinicians, researchers, industry partners and funders. CHIPA’s mission is to reduce the incidence and impact of childhood injury across Australia.
  • The KIDS Foundation has a strong presence on the Sunshine Coast that continues to grow each year. This year, the foundation turned 25 and celebrated in September in Noosa, with Dine in White, an exclusive food event that raised funds for local projects. Dine in White was supported by 15 restaurants, each of which donated a unique dining experience for guests. More than 150 people enjoyed the event and raised $40,000 to help KIDS deliver safety education programs in Noosa.

Discussions are underway with chef Matt Golinski about the 2019 Dine in White fundraising dinner event at View Restaurant, which will also coincide with the 2019 Noosa camp, so stay tuned for details on www.kidsfoundation.org.au

Sunshine Coast Kids Today wishes Tom Moore a speedy recovery and much-improved quality of life after his big surgery.