Kody’s Story

What happened?

On the 29th of November, Kody was outside playing with a friend while I was inside the house. At some point, the boys went into our back shed, which also doubles as my home gym and houses our treadmill. Kody has used the treadmill many times before, but always with close supervision. Unfortunately, this time they decided to turn it on without me there.

The treadmill was set to a speed of over 10 km/h, far faster than Kody had ever experienced. He quickly lost his footing and fell while the belt was still moving, becoming trapped between the back of the treadmill and the shed wall. Thankfully, his friend reacted quickly and pressed the emergency stop.

When I checked on Kody, he was walking and didn’t seem overly distressed. He wasn’t crying, and I initially only noticed a few scrapes on his feet and elbow. However, after a few minutes, it became clear that something wasn’t right with his shoulder. When I lifted his shirt, I saw a significant friction burn.

I immediately applied a cold compress, then covered the wound with cling film. Once I realised the severity of the injury, I took Kody straight to Perth Children’s Hospital for medical care.

Treatment and recovery journey

After Kody’s initial treatment in the Emergency Department, we returned the following day to Ward 1B. There, Kody was given a bath, his wounds were carefully cleaned and dressed, and a vacuum-assisted wound dressing was applied to his back. Kody quickly named his VAC pump “Jeremy,” and over the next week, the two of them spent time at home building LEGO and attempting to make it through short days at school, all while trying to stay as still as possible.

During this time, Kody returned to Perth Children’s Hospital every two days for wound checks and dressing changes. One week after the accident, Kody underwent skin graft surgery, with skin taken from his thigh and applied to his shoulder. At that stage, it was unclear whether multiple surgeries would be needed, but thankfully, the graft took well, and no further surgery was required. The nurses took incredible care of him, and we were able to return home to his own bed that same night.

Recovery was challenging, especially keeping a very active nine-year-old immobile, but regular visits to Ward 1B every two days helped closely monitor his progress. When there were early signs of infection at both the graft and donor sites, Kody was started on antibiotics. Thankfully, his wounds responded well and began healing beautifully.

Visits to Ward 1B continued every two days, both in the lead‑up to and throughout the Christmas period and quickly became part of our family’s routine. Despite the frequency, we were always welcomed with warmth and familiarity, and before long, we were on first-name terms with many of the nurses. The care and support we received were truly second to none. We were consistently reassured, any concerns were addressed promptly, and we were always provided with more than enough supplies to confidently manage Kody’s dressings at home.

Kody was more than happy to participate in the biobank research and loved learning he was the 500th participant. As a family, we strongly believe in sharing Kody’s story, and being involved in research feels like a meaningful way to help future families on similar journeys.

Life now

Kody’s wound has now moved into the scar‑management phase and is healing well, but emotionally, the journey is still ongoing. He has become quite self-conscious about his scar and prefers to keep it covered, something that is new for him. The experience has made him much more aware of his body, even though throughout the entire process, he remained incredibly brave, positive, and resilient. He rarely complained, despite the many challenges he faced.

What was hardest for Kody was missing out on so many end-of-year experiences with his friends—birthday parties, the school end-of-year water gun fight, swimming over Christmas, and a family trip to Rottnest, where he could only go waist-deep in the water. Given the timing of the accident at the start of summer, and how active he is (especially his love of the water), stepping back from the things he enjoyed most had a noticeable impact on his mood.

Now that Kody has returned to most of his usual activities, he is much happier, although not quite the same carefree boy he was before. As a family, we’ve adjusted to new routines, including making sure Kody wears a rashie whenever we’re at the beach, pool, or swimming lessons. He understands the importance of protecting his scar from the sun and is fully on board with it.

We are incredibly grateful for the care we received from the Burns team at Perth Children’s Hospital and for the ongoing work and support of the Fiona Wood Foundation