Linda Kosmer Interview Transcript

PA: Linda, thanks for coming in to speak to us today. First things first, how is Allan doing?

LK: He’s doing remarkably well considering where he was three weeks ago. He’s come a very long way in a very short period of time. You know, he’s now able to sit up and feed himself and he’s up and walking with assistance and he’s already started his rehabilitation work in the gym. So you know, he’s really advanced and all his medical team are so surprised at just how quickly he’s progressed.

PA: So he’s left hospital and he’s now in a rehabilitation centre?

LK: Yes that’s right, he’s currently in rehabilitation. So he’s undergoing very intensive therapy sessions four times a day and he’s doing really well.

PA: Terrific, and obviously you are able to go and visit him every day and see how he is going?

LK: Yes, most of my day revolves around being at the hospital with him. And it’s just a matter of fitting in around his therapy sessions. So he’s doing great.

PA: So they’re very happy with the way he’s progressing – are they giving any indication of timeframes or anything like that in terms of his recovery?

LK: There’s no timeframes. The problem with head injuries is every head injury is different. And, you know, at the moment Allan’s progressing, at some stage he may go backward for a little while but at the moment all indications are really positive. At this stage it looks like he will be in there for several months as a minimum. But, he’s progressing so quickly it’s really hard to know. The medical team can’t give you any guarantees in terms of timeframe. It’s not a like a broken bone that’s mended in 6 weeks time, it’s just a wait and see.

PA: Okay, well it’s great to hear he’s doing so well. Can you tell us a little bit about your experience, and the rest of the family, over the last three or so weeks since the accident?

LK: It’s certainly been a very turbulent period. I think one thing that’s come home to me is that ripple effect – you don’t realise just how many people are affected. It’s not just immediate family, but it’s our fire brigade family, and his brigade members, brigades that he used to be members with, work colleagues, and the support that we’ve had from people all over the state and even interstate has just been absolutely phenomenal. It’s just so touching that we’ve had so much, you know, so many well wishers and so much positive feedback from so many people. And I think that first week in intensive care was probably the hardest because you’re going through an absolute emotional rollercoaster, you don’t know whether he’s going to wake up and then he starts to wake up and then they have to sedate him again to make sure that his brain is resting. So it’s a very painful process of allowing him to wake up slowly. And then you go through the elation of him actually being released from hospital and sent to rehabilitation and I think that’s when it hits you that – ‘okay he’s out of hospital but now the hard work starts,’ and you know that it’s going to be a very long road. So it’s been a very difficult period for, particularly immediate family, it just takes a while for them to be allowed to go in and see him and now that they have they can actually see the progress that he’s made.

PA: What’s Allan’s response been?

LK: He’s very, very positive and I’ve been really surprised, actually, his attitude has been wonderful. He’s certainly retained his sense of humour. If anything, he’s probably more cheeky than he was. The first coherent thing he asked for was his fire pager, ‘what happened to my fire pager?’, and can he have it [laughs]. He certainly hasn’t lost his sense of humour, and he’s doing really well from that point of view.

PA: There’s a lot of people around the State obviously that have been thinking of you and the family, and wishing you all the best. Is there anything else you wanted to say?

LK: Look I just want to thank the CFA. Their support throughout this has been absolutely second to none. Particularly Gill Metz who’s been there right from the first day, and who’s had contact with me on a regular basis, who spent the first few days at hospital with us, she has just been absolutely outstanding. Right down to the administrative staff, Andria and Richard have been great helping me get through the paperwork. And Allan’s brigade Captain Peter Roylance and the other Wallan brigade members have just been so supportive and so wonderful. It’s just been really touching the amount of contact that we’ve had from brigade members all over the State, people who don’t even know Allan. It’s just really brought home what a wonderful family the CFA is. And you don’t realise that you have such a wonderful support mechanism there until you absolutely need it. And it’s just been the most wonderful experience from that point of view, it’s just been great.