Australian Hero : Turia Pitt makes so many of us look surplus to requirements.

Turia Pitt not willing to let burns scars define her life as she prepares to take part in a 3,716km bike race

Fiona Baker
The Sunday Telegraph
February 1,2014

THE horrific burns to 65 per cent of Turia Pitt's body, combined with seemingly endless surgeries, would have stopped the most determined in their tracks.

However, the 26-year-old athlete won't be beaten.

Two-and-a-half years after she was burnt in a bushfire during a 100-km marathon through the remote Kimberley Region - which left her in a coma for two months - Pitt is preparing to hit the road again.

"The fire has turned my life upside down; I don't want it to have any more impact. It was a couple of seconds. What's that compared to a lifetime?Turia Pitt

Pitt, from Ulladulla in southern NSW, will participate in the 3716km Variety Cycle ride from Sydney to Uluru that sets off next month. And that's not all she's got planned.

In May she'll take part in the 20km Lake Argyle Swim in Western Australia as part of a relay with three other survivors of the Kimberley fire.

Later in the year she's doing a five-day walk along the Great Wall of China for Interplast, an organisation that provides free reconstructive surgery to poorer parts of the world.

"The fire has turned my life upside down; I don't want it to have any more impact," she said.

"It was a couple of seconds. What's that compared to a lifetime?

"That's not to say any of this is easy."

Pitt admits it can sound like she's taking on a lot for someone suffering such horrendous injuries.

"If I've learned anything from my accident it's that we're all much stronger and powerful than we'll ever know and, while lots of people live life to its fullest, others let life pass them by. That's really sad.''

Pitt is also studying for an MBA and Masters in mining engineering while being in constant demand on the motivational speaking circuit.
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I don’t want the fire to have any more impact. It was a few seconds. What’s that in a lifetime?

Sunday Telegraph
February 2,2014.
Body and Soul
Pg.4

Turia Pitt suffered horrific burns in a bushfire during a marathon in 2011, fell into a coma for two months and has since had repeated surgeries. Next month, the 26-year-old will ride from Sydney to Uluru in The Variety Cycle. She tells Beverley Hadgraft

 “People ask how I endured the pain after the fire, how I waited four hours to be rescued in the burning sun, how I walked off the helicopter and into Darwin Hospital. I think it’s like the mum who lifts a car to rescue her trapped kids. If it’s true we only use 10 per cent of our brain, maybe it’s the same with potential.

If I’ve learned anything from my accident it’s that we’re all much stronger and powerful than we’ll ever know and, while lots of people live life to its fullest, others let life pass them by and that’s really sad.
I’m trapped by my body but others are trapped by their minds and years of negative conditioning and I think that’s a worse travesty. I give motivational speeches now encouraging everyone to “unmask their potential”.

I was really fit when I got burned. That meant I recovered better but the burns were worse – body fat is a good insulator. Surgeons say it will take 10 years to get back to where I was but I can still “unmask my potential” as I’ll prove this year.

In March, my partner, Michael Hoskin, and I will do The Variety Cycle, a 3716km ride from Sydney to Uluru in 26 days. In May, I’ll do the 20km Lake Argyle Swim in WA, in a relay with three other survivors from the fire, which will be awesome. After that I’m doing a five-day walk along the Great Wall of China for Interplast, an organisation that provides free reconstructive surgery to poorer parts of the world.

I’m studying an MBA and Masters in mining engineering and have speaking engagements booked until June. I’ll have surgery to improve the appearance and function of my nose in September, and that will require a six-month recovery, but once I’m over that I’ll start training for an ironman.

Does it sound like a lot? The fire has turned my life upside down; I don’t want it to have any more impact. It was a couple of seconds. What’s that compared to a lifetime? That’s not to say any of this is easy.

LEARNING TO PUSH NEW LIMITS
I only got on a bike for the first time since my accident in December. I wasn’t even sure I could still do it but... Well, it was like riding a bike – you never forget.

My hands are the biggest problem in cycling. After the fire I had all the fingers on my right

hand amputated and have just three, which are fused together, on my left. I can’t open a jar, fasten buttons, write a letter, flip someone the bird... That makes it hard to hold onto my handlebars. The first time we cycled over corrugations, I fell off. Michael was like, “Come on, Turia – pull it together, stay on your bike.”

And I was saying, “Listen, mate. You’ve got 10 fingers, I’ve only got three. Chill out a bit.” When we go over bumps now it’s a bit scary so I go slower.
I also have to consider the fact that one of the skin’s major functions is to regulate your body temperature, but because of the burns, 65 per cent of my skin doesn’t have that function any more. When I heat up it takes ages to cool down and when I get cold it takes ages to heat up.


That’s something I’ll never get back but I’m lucky that the major parts of the body that sweat – the underarms, groin and hair – aren’t burned. However, I’ll struggle when it’s hot, especially out near Uluru, so we’ll probably ride two hours in the morning and two in the evening.

At the moment my training schedule has me cycling two hours on the road one day and 40 minutes on a stationery bike the next. I also do personal training three times a week. It’s a mix of power, strength, agility and plyometrics. Again it’s complicated by not having fingers. I can’t lift weights but we’ve found ways around it and my trainer pushes me bloody hard.

I have to fit in swim training as well, and I bodyboard for fun. I can’t get back on the surfboard yet as I don’t have the strength in my upper body. I also do yoga three times a week despite the problems with flexibility. Scar tissue doesn’t have the same flexibility as normal skin but it’s getting better.
On top of all that there’s physio. I have to do things such as bend my elbow 500 times a day, because large burn injuries often cause ossification (hardening of soft tissue) in the elbows. Basically, they’re stuck and you have a limited range of movement.

THE LONG ROAD TO RECOVERY
It’s important to say that it’s not only me who stepped up after the accident. Michael has been such a dedicated and supportive partner. There were times when I lashed out, wanting to hurt the people closest to me, but he was back again at 7am the next morning and still there at 7pm that night. He’s a really lovely man and I’m blessed to have him, but we wont tell him that or he’ll get a big head!

My trainer, my physiotherapist, my masseuse, my psychologist... Everyone in my home town of Ulladulla on the NSW south coast has been amazing. They had no experience of people with burns, but we worked it out along the way. I’ve never felt so loved and supported by my community. My best friends organised a masquerade ball which raised $ 60,000. With that money, I was able to go to a world-renowned burns clinic in the south of France.

I didn’t only make physical gains there, I made psychological ones, too. I was still wearing the mask when I came home but I felt like the old Turia was still alive – I felt more like me. It sounds ridiculous because who else would I be? I can’t put my finger on why that was. Perhaps one reason was that I had time by myself. We all need that and I hadn’t had any for a year.

Also, there’s so much emphasis on physical recovery but mental and emotional recovery are just as important. When I first got out of hospital, I felt so depressed I started to think about suicide. I felt useless and worthless, I couldn’t do anything – I couldn’t run, swim, surf, brush my teeth. I couldn’t wipe my own behind. I thought, why am I even alive? I can’t do anything. I can’t enjoy life. What’s the point?

I knew then that I needed professional help and I’m not ashamed of feeling like that – it’s perfectly normal. Writing my book, Everything to Live For ( Random House), helped, as did returning to study. But the psychologist also taught me that it’s not realistic to expect to feel good all the time. So when I feel angry, I think, yep, I feel angry today, or I’m sad today, and that’s fine.

Australia's Finest : Turia Pitt,"..........it may have taken away my body but there's still a piece inside of me which is still that independent woman who's very determined.''

A Mothers Love ...thanks from a Daughter, when Angels live among us and quietly go about their business, surely WE can HELP, even just a little.

Latest 19812 ,Turia Pitt and Kate Sanderson update:Damning findings have been made against organisers of the 2011 Kimberley Ultramarathon.

Australia's Finest : Turia Pitt,"..........it may have taken away my body but there's still a piece inside of me which is still that independent woman who's very determined.''

Burn victim Turia Pitt opens up to 60 Minutes about 100km Kimberley Ultramarathon fire

Ashlee Mullany
The Sunday Times
August 24, 2013



A FIRE robbed Turia Pitt of her body but, in just two years, the ultra-marathon burns survivor has painstakingly taught herself to sprint like a top athlete.

With a clear mission to never give up, the 26-year-old has opened up about her determination to rebuild her life after suffering horrific burns during an outback marathon.

INSPIRATION: How love saved Turia Pitt's life

`I think there's a little piece inside of me which the fire didn't get to, if that makes sense,'' Ms Ms Pitt tells 60 Minutes in an interviewing airing tonight.

``So yeah it may have taken away my body but there's still a piece inside of me which is still that independent woman who's very determined.''

In her fight back from the brink of death, she has learnt to walk, run and sprint.

``When I look at photos from before I just think you know, bloody hell I was really good looking and I'm a really determined person so I'll try to get as much of that back as I can,'' she said.

Ms Pitt was among a group of runners who suffered burns when fire swept through a rocky gorge as they competed in the 100km Kimberley Ultramarathon, between Kununurra and El Questro in September 2011.

ACTION: Turia Pitt takes Racing The Planet organisers to court

The blaze left Ms Pitt, from Ulladulla on the NSW south coast, and fellow runner Kate Sanderson severely disfigured, with burns to more than 60 per cent of their bodies.

Runners Michael Hull and Martin Van Der Merwe received less serious injuries in the fire.



Ms Pitt, then a successful mining engineer, spent months in hospital and had to have all her fingers and a thumb removed on her right hand.

After more than 16 surgeries and almost two years wearing a head-to-toe compression suit, she says she can finally remove her face mask.

Ms Pitt was insistent on showing her face on 60 Minutes and hoped to inspire others with her story.

She's now studying for her Master's degree and preparing for the release of her book, Everything to Live For, on September 2.

Her boyfriend Michael Hoskin has remained by her side during her recovery and legal

battle for compensation from event organiser Racing the Planet.

The family is yet to receive any contribution from RTP towards Ms Pitt's medical bills, which have topped $2 million.


Racing the Planet is still advertising marathon events for 2014 in Asia, Africa and South America.

Company founder Mary Gadams did not respond to questions from The Sunday Telegraph.

A Mothers Love ...thanks from a Daughter, when Angels live among us and quietly go about their business, surely WE can HELP, even just a little.

Dear Mum, Love Turia

Ali Smith

60 Minutes

http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8652218

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Sunday, May 12 is Mother's Day - a time to thank our mums for their unconditional love and unwavering selflessness.

Over the years, 60 Minutes has met some very special mothers and Celestine Vaite is one of them.

She's nurtured her daughter, Turia Pitt, back to health after Turia was severely burnt while competing in the Kimberley ultra-marathon.

For this Mother's Day, Turia has written her mum a letter to say "thank you".

Dear Mum book featuring Turia Pitt's letter: www.randomhouse.com.au

Turia Pitt is an advocate for DonateLife: www.donatelife.gov.au

Contribute to Turia's Making a Difference fund at makingadifference.gofundraise.com.au

If you would like to help burn victims through the Sydney Burns Foundation, download the Concord Burns Unit Donation Form here.

http://www.sswahs.nsw.gov.au/Concord/PDF/donate_advice_burnsunit.pdf

So what happened to Turia Pitt?

Latest 19812 ,Turia Pitt and Kate Sanderson update:Damning findings have been made against organisers of the 2011 Kimberley Ultramarathon.

Up date from 60 Minutes Australia 19 8 2012
Video # 1

Damning findings have been made against organisers of the 2011 Kimberley Ultramarathon which left runners suffering horrific burns after a bushfire swept through the race route. Two runners, Kate Sanderson and Turia Pitt, suffered burns to more than 60 percent.

Turia Pitt and Kate Sanderson so so brave, please help with whatever you can.

Sydney Burns Foundation growing Synthetic Skin

Damning findings against fire race organisers

9 News

Thu Aug 16 2012

Damning findings have been made against organisers of the 2011 Kimberley Ultramarathon which left runners suffering horrific burns after a bushfire swept through the race route.

Two runners, Kate Sanderson and Turia Pitt, suffered burns to more than 60 per cent of their bodies after they were trapped in a gorge by a bushfire as they were running in the 100km race in Western Australia's northernmost region in September.

Michael Hull and Martin Van Der Merwe also received serious burns and required skin grafts.

A parliamentary committee report, released on Thursday, found Hong Kong-based organisers Racing the Planet did not take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of event participants.

Committee chairman Mike Nahan, the member for Riverton, said the company's biggest mistake was not liaising with the Fire and Emergency Services Authority of WA (FESA) when it planned the event.

"The level of communication and consultation with relevant agencies and individuals regarding the event's risk management plan was generally inadequate, both in terms of its timeliness and its approach," Dr Nahan told parliament.

"Specifically, Racing the Planet failed to communicate and consult adequately with the Shire of Wyndham East Kimberley - the shire in which the race was held - the WA police force, the Fire and Emergency Services (FESA) and St John's Ambulance service."

Dr Nahan said FESA's Kununurra office would have provided advice that could have led to the route being changed or cancelled.

Ms Sanderson's brother Ian said his demands for an inquiry were fobbed off by WA Health Minister Kim Hames until opposition justice spokeswoman Michelle Roberts intervened and made it happen.

"He was telling me that there were no grounds and no means by which the government could conduct an inquiry," Mr Sanderson told reporters.

"This report proves him utterly wrong."

Dr Hames rejected the claim, but said he "absolutely" believed Racing the Planet should offer financial compensation to the victims, saving them from pursuing it in court.

"They should have known the risks ... if there is anyone to blame in all this it is quite clearly Racing the Planet," he said.

While Premier Colin Barnett earlier this year ruled out state government ex-gratia payments to the victims, Dr Hames said it would be considered.

"There is a case being made by the committee that while it is an international company based in Hong Kong, that it would be very difficult for those who were severely injured to extract money from that company, that the government should consider providing financial support by way of ex-gratia payment," he said.

The WA government had three months to respond to the report and it was up to Attorney-General Michael Mischin if he wanted to act before that deadline, Dr Hames said.

He said one of the most important recommendations of the report was that event organisers be insured in Australia - advice he intended the government to follow.

"Quite clearly, the recommendation of the committee is that the government should require any organisation running an event in Australia to have insurance that is claimable in Australia and sue-able in Australia."

Mr Sanderson said it was "entirely possible" the organisers would make voluntary payments to victims "based on common sense and decency".

Earlier on Thursday, solicitor Greg Walsh, who is acting for Ms Pitt and four others, said a writ against Racing the Planet would be filed in coming days.

"Conservatively, the case would be worth something in excess of $10 million," Mr Walsh told ABC radio.

Ms Pitt spent more than $3 million to have her face, hands and body reconstructed.

Sydney Burns Foundation growing Synthetic Skin

Sydney Burns Foundation researchers are growing synthetic skin


Jane Hansen 
The Sunday Telegraph
July 08, 2012 12:00AM


BURNS victims will be able to grow back their own skin within five years following groundbreaking advancements in skin reproduction.


Researchers from the Sydney Burns Foundation are growing a human-based substance "recombinant elastin" which associate professor Peter Haertsch believes will provide victims a better quality of life.


"We can save more patients now, but their quality of life hasn't improved and this technology will change all that.


It is a living skin equivalent," said Concord Hospital's Prof Haertsch.


"It will be a pliable, durable sheet like a thin piece of sponge full of holes and you put that on the excised burn and then the body will repopulate the sponge with cells that produce collagen and elastin, so the skin will regenerate, not scar."


Large animal trials are scheduled before human trials of the product can begin within five years. The Sydney Burns Foundation, of which Prof Haertsch is the chair, needs to raise $1.5 million to continue the research.


Prof Haertsch, who received an Order of Australia for his work on the Bali bombing victims ten years ago, said he felt he was letting current patients down 
with the existing treatment of skin grafting which does not stretch, sweat or oil itself like normal skin.

These Girls are just  two of the thousands needing help from the Sydney Burns Foundation every year. Please assist financially if you can

Turia Pitt, the 25-year-old runner who suffered burns to 64 per cent of her body when trapped in a bushfire during an ultra-marathon in the Kimberley last year, acknowledges the difficulties of skin grafting but is very grateful to have survived and is planning to run in the upcoming City to Surf.


"Your skin is really stiff and it's really hard to move," she said.

Turia Pitt and Kate Sanderson so so brave, please help with whatever you can.

Kate Sanderson and Turia Pitt Facebook donation Page 

Ultra-marathon disaster
Clare Brady 
Today Tonight
February 27, 2012


An ultra-marathon competitor is fighting horrific burns after she was allowed to run straight into a fierce bushfire that almost took her life.

But Kate Sanderson is also fighting for an inquiry to find out who should be held responsible for her terrible injuries.

Sanderson, 35, a super fit and experienced ultra-marathon runner, now has 55 per cent of her body covered in burns.

Part of her left foot has been amputated, and after six months in hospital, and enduring fifteen skin grafts, she has finally been allowed to go home.

As she told the Herald Sun, a 100 kilometre foot race in Western Australia's outback has ruined her life.

Sanderson was competing in one of Racing The Planet’s gruelling marathons - this one through the unforgiving terrain of the Kimberley Region.

The runners knew about the heat, but weren't told what lay ahead - dormant and waiting was a fire that had been smouldering for days.

“It was horrendous - the scariest time of my life. And to hear the girls screaming, and there was nothing we could do,” marathon runner Michael Hull said.

Marathon runners like Hull are made tough, but nothing prepared them for what to do. When six runners, including Sanderson, were in a gorge, winds whipped up and the fire trapped them in a fight for their lives.

“We were trying to find where the roads were. No one had mobile phones because we knew there was no coverage. You know, we had a whistle. There was no shade, so we were getting sunburn on the burns,” Sanderson said.

In excruciating heat they waited for four hours for help to arrive.

“Any burn has a huge impact on all body systems: even a small burn will affect your nerves, your liver, your heart, your lungs, your kidneys. I know if you're burnt on your arm, your nerves are affected on the other side, so if you escalate that to 55 per cent body surface area, that is a huge insult to the area, and takes a significant recovery,” burns expert and plastic surgeon, Dr Fiona Woods said.

Dr Wood's work with burns victims after the Bali bombing is well known.

“When you're burnt you are no longer waterproof - this beautiful casing skin is interrupted, and so you're a leaky sieve - you lose a lot of fluid and circulation, and you can't deliver oxygen to everywhere in the body as well as the skin,” Dr Woods said.

Naturally Sanderson wants answers - answers about why they weren't warned about the fire.

Now the Western Australian Government has agreed ‘in principle’ to hold a Parliamentary Committee into that race.

According to Phil Gleeson from Maurice Blackburn Lawyers “if there is a finding of fault, or a want of responsibility, of either the State Government or the organiser’s part, I think they would deserve compensation.”

He'll now compete in an ultra-marathon in New Zealand next month, and with each step he'll raise money for Sanderson and Turia Pitt (who was also trapped by the flames and has burns to most of her body) to aid their recovery.

Response from Racing the Planet Organizers