Antony’s Story
On October 12, 2002, I was in the Sari Club in Kuta, Bali, when unexpectedly, terrorists detonated a car bomb killing 202 people and severely injuring many others.
What happened?
On October 12, 2002, I was in the Sari Club in Kuta, Bali, when unexpectedly, terrorists detonated a car bomb killing 202 people and severely injuring many others. I was buried alive under the ruins of the Sari Club and had to make my own way out. After initially being treated in Bali, I was airlifted out by the RAAF to Royal Darwin Hospital in the Northern Territory, where my injuries were assessed as being critical. I was not expected to survive.
My treatment and recovery journey
I suffered severe burns to 60% of my body, shrapnel injuries, hearing loss, swelling on the brain and severe infection as a result of the explosion. I spent 53 days in the ICU unit at Royal Perth Hospital. Prof. Fiona Wood and an incredible team of doctors and nurses performed three lifesaving operations on me during this time which essentially saved my life.
Upon arriving on the burns ward, I was virtually paralysed, couldn’t walk or sit up, bend my joints, lift my limbs or change channels on the remote for the T.V. The basic tasks of life were impossible. Dr Dale Edgar and the physiotherapy and occupational therapy team worked on getting me moving again. Progress was slow and frustrating, but I eventually learnt how to walk again and regain functional movement in my body.
I left hospital three months after being admitted but still went back daily for dressing changes, occupational therapy and physiotherapy. Since then, I have had many other surgeries to fix issues with troublesome scarring.
Life now
I am now fully recovered from my injuries and leading a normal life.
As an active community member, I volunteer for two associations and work fulltime in the field of Workplace Health and Safety. I have also taken part in a few research projects since the injury and, in 2021, participated in the Central Park Plunge, raising funds for the Fiona Wood Foundation.
I have also written a book about my ordeal which was released in October 2022. Part proceeds are being donated to the Fiona Wood Foundation to help with ongoing research into burns treatment.
‘”For those of us who were in Bali on October 12 2002, we saw the very worst that humanity has to offer. But in the doctors, nurses, scientists, researchers and other allied health professionals, we also saw the very best that humanity has to offer. These are people who work tirelessly to help the injured to recover. Their job is not easy and they don’t receive wide acclaim, but day in and day out they turn up to fight the good fight, to help those who have been dealt a bad hand in life.”
Antony
