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>> LINDA: My name is Linda Buchan and this is my story.
[pause]
I got home one night and it was freezing so I went to my room, turned the heater on.
Obviously the room heated up a fair bit so I flicked my doona off my body and I think
that fell onto the heater which I’m not sure, just triggered something in the heater,
from that, just caught alight, the whole doona and bedding went up.
And then room was just a light, and then I got out of my room, once I entered the hallway
the smoke was too thick and I ended up collapsing in the hall way.
My sister was staying with me for the night, I believe that once I got out of my room I
was going to her room but that was when I collapsed on the way.
My friend came up the stairs, he got me out, and then he went back in to get my sister
Kim. The smoke by that stage was too thick and unfortunately he could not get to her
in time. I believe the firemen then came up and got her out but it was just too late.
I suffered from a hypoxic brain injury during the fire, I think that resulted from a lack
of oxygen to the brain and also smoke inhalation, the combination of the two affected me.
After the fire, my injures where quit severe. In rehab I had to learn how to walk again,
I was in a wheelchair for a number of months unable to walk. I had to relearn even how
to swallow, to eat, to drink. I couldn’t go to the bathroom by myself, showering; I
couldn’t do anything by myself. I was like a big baby in an adults body.
[pause]
I have injuries now where my balance has been affected, my speech, my eyesight and also
my fine motor control skills. I also have third degree burns on my legs, full thickness.
The treatment on my legs was to have skin grafts to minimise the scaring and for them
to heal. I have also had my toes amputated which mean that balancing is a bit tricky.
The treatment of the burns after the fire was the most painful thing ever because what
they do is dress your burns every second day. They dress them with tight mesh and with a
lot of ointment, they bandage them all up. Within those 2 days, my skin would heal and
my skin would grow over the mesh and every second day they would have to take the mesh
off and start again. It was like ripping a massive bandaid off my entire legs every second
day.
When I got out of rehab I couldn’t walk to the end of the driveway without assistance,
I gradually built that up and walked to the neighbour’s house, then 2 houses down and
so on. Then I started venturing around the block.
I would be walking along and cars would stop, wind down the window and say “excuse me,
can I drive you somewhere, you look like you’re in pain?” and I would say, “no thanks,
I’m just out for my walk” and then the questions would come then I would explain
what had happened.
One morning I got up and was walking and I heard footsteps behind me then I hear this
voice and she said “you’re the reason why I got out of bed this morning and went
for a walk” she said “I knew I would see you, if you could do it, I could get out of
bed too”.
This accident has changed my life completely, and my parents, my immediate family and my
extended family.
Now I just really want to give back to the community.
When I see those news stories I think to myself I understand what they are going through,
if only they had a smoke detector or some warning that was in place, they could have
gotten out of the house and save their own lives and save their children’s lives.
Just fit a smoke alarm and make sure that every year you change the batteries, even
if they are wired into the house, just please make sure you change the batteries every year.
Maintain your smoke alarm, just make sure they are all up to date and everything is
in order because they will save your life.