A message from Louise Barbour, the mother of Tom Barbour addressing the Peninsula Old Boys Football Club and the wider community.
I thought I’d take this opportunity to talk about Tom’s progress and his future plans. Firstly he received his splints earlier this year and he is now able to stand with the splints.
These splints have been moulded to fit Tom’s legs and he wears them under his clothes. It was the first time that I was able to cuddle Tom in 18 months which was an emotional moment for me. I had forgotten how tall Tom was. Unfortunately Tom cannot walk with them but his physiotherapist is working with him so he can walk. It is a slow process but because Tom has therapy for 6 hours a week to work on his core muscles, he is strong and so he has taken a few steps. He actually said that it is very hard work and extremely difficult to perfect. Go Tom!!!!
So Tom has 2 hours of physiotherapy and 4 hours with a personal trainer and one hour massage per week at the cost of $430 per week. These health professionals work with Tom on a physical level but because they now know Tom so well they relate to him on an emotional level. He is fortunate that he has a very committed team of very dedicated and professional people.
So what else has Tom been doing?? Tom has been giving talks. His first talk was to the Richmond Football club. For that I want to thank Kim Stephens, the Psychologist at the Richmond football club because he has followed Tom’s journey and has seen Tom’s resilience and strength. He then organised the talk even though Tom had never done any talks previously. He believed in Tom and felt that Tom could tell his story which may impact on others. Tom really enjoyed delivering the talk to 80 players and coaches at the Richmond football club. It gave him the opportunity to tell his story but also reflect on himself. He gained a lot of confidence from that talk. He felt that he could give to others at some level. He never realised that what had happened to him could maybe change what one other person may do as a result of his story!! This has now led Tom into another area of public speaking. He has now been asked by a number of private schools and football clubs to give talks. He has also been invited by the Head of Physiotherapy to speak to the physiotherapy students during their lectures of the week allocated to Spinal injury.Whilst Tom is out of his comfort zone he believes that he can make a difference. He is also doing tutoring to a few students for a small fee to supplement his income. He is loving his course at Monash doing a double degree in engineering and commerce and did extremely well last semester in his three units achieving a High distinction and two distinctions. This semester he has a full work load of 4 units.
Tom and Stef were invited by the Richmond Football club to watch a home game and be in the club rooms with the players pre and post the game!! Very exciting for them!! They said it was a very unique experience and one they won’t forget!! Great photo of Tom and the players after the talk and then one with Stef and the players at the home game.
Yes and tom has decided to take up the position as Treasurer for the Peninsula Old boys Football Club. He wants to give back to the club because the boys and the committee have given Tom ongoing support!! Um…. he has only done one accounting subject at Uni so let’s hope that’s enough to get him on the right path!! I’m sure Shaun Payze who has been Captain for many years until his resignation at the end of this season and an Accountant who was the Treasurer for 5 years can mentor Tom!! To add to that I would also like to thank Janiffer Williams from the Marcellin Old Boys Football club who initiated a fundraiser for Tom when we played them at their home ground. She had organised a sausage sizzle and a raffle where the prize was donated by one of their sponsors MicroCloud. Paul McGuinness won the 8 pillows and Paul who just loves sharing donated 4 back as a second prize and gave two to Tony and myself (have to love Paul’s generosity)!! We gave them to the boys and they absolutely love them!! They raised $750.00 on the day and from there the VAFA did an article in their newsletter about the clubs coming together for this cause. As a result of the article a person who read the story donated $200 to Tom!! There will always be a very special bond between the two clubs whilst maintaining a healthy competition of football as well!!!
So what are our goals for next year?? At this point in time Tom won’t go to Project walk next year so we won’t need to fundraise for that, however if Project walk is in Melbourne he will need to do the therapy. Our short term goal is that Tom will increase his talks where possible and do more tutoring to supplement his income. We have applied for scholarships at Monash as well. Tom has another 5 years to complete his University degree and whilst he is a student we need to ensure that his ongoing therapy is maintained. We realise that the community has given generously and we cannot expect this to continue ongoing for years. As I have said to Tom, it’s about him maintaining his therapy so that when there is a break through his body is in the best condition for him to embrace the treatment. Tom is just fortunate that he has a family that are dedicated to the core and a community that embrace him. We will be not be complacent and accept that this is Tom’s life now and forever!! We have to continually keep up with the latest research!! Australia is not at the forefront in Spinal cord injury and highly unlikely it ever will be, because we are in the minority and there is very little work done in Australia (sadly) so it’s up to families like us to monitor and follow the research and hopefully there will be a country who will come up with the results!!!!!!!!!!!!
So to everyone who has supported Tom we can just say thank you and we feel privileged and humbled by your supprt.
I meant to thank a very special person at the Trivia night but time got in the way and that’s a very special person Amanda Churcher who has been at every fundraiser!!!!I have never been in this situation before, but to me, I cannot imagine a friend attending every fundraiser and I would not expect that!! So thank you for your amazing support and love to Tom and our family. You are an angel and I know that we will always have a friendship. Thanks Amanda.
Warmest Regards
Louise Barbour
Last Modified on 14/12/2013 19:00