Little Freddy spreads Christmas cheer

Two-year-old Freddy McNamara is counting down the days until Christmas.

The toddler, who suffered a serious burn earlier this year, will help welcome the Christmas cheer at Townsville University Hospital to kick off the annual fundraising partnership between Townsville Hospital and Health Service and Brighter Lives.

Freddy will open a present from Santa and place the final ornament on Townsville University Hospital (TUH) tree as the festive season kicks off.

His mum and neonatal intensive care unit nurse Kimberley McNamara said Freddy burned his hand in August playing with toy cars alongside his two older brothers on the family’s treadmill.

“He stuck his hand under the tread and got a really severe friction burn on the inside of his little finger,” Mrs McNamara said.

“Once I looked at it, I knew straight away that it was really bad.

Mrs McNamara rushed the little boy to the emergency department and doctors discovered the injury, which extended across two joints, had exposed the tendons in his pinkie finger.  

Freddy underwent two surgeries to remove the dead tissue and then went into another surgery to have a skin graft to repair the lost and damaged skin.

“You always think worst case scenario and my greatest fear was he would lose his finger,” Mrs McNamara said.

“Freddy is very accident prone and all he wants to do is what his big brothers are doing.”

Mrs McNamara said despite the size, Freddie’s injury would have an ongoing impact as he gets older.

“You think it is just a little finger but there is a big impact on his hand function if it does not heal properly,” she said.

“Scars don’t grow with children so he will have to be monitored until he stops growing.”

After working in health for almost two decades, Ms McNamara said being on the other side as a patient was a challenge.

“I still can’t believe how much trauma can be caused by an injury to such a tiny body part,” she said.

“As a parent rather than a nurse I could see the anxiety parents in this situation face when they put their trust in medical experts to look after their babies.

“It also made me proud to be a part of this health service because I saw how amazing everyone in our paediatric burns team was - the surgeons, the nurses, the occupational therapists, and everyone else have just been remarkable.”

Brighter Lives chief executive officer Tanya Busoli said the annual fundraising partnership between the charity and hospital was about embracing the season of giving.

“This year, we are encouraging people to donate towards a project to help children with burns,” she said.

Brighter Lives is raising funds for a dual-wavelength laser to treat children who have suffered burns, to bring the latest technology in burns treatment to north Queensland.

“More than 200 children like Freddy are treated for burns injuries at TUH each year.  

“Laser procedures are one of the options available to clinicians and can reduce the appearance, pain and discomfort and improve children’s quality of life,” she said.

“Christmas is about celebrating the joy of giving back and every dollar makes a difference and gets us closer to our goal.”

Townsville Hospital and Health Service Board Chair Tony Mooney said the health service was proud to partner with Brighter Lives to improve the lives of children living in north Queensland.

“Every day, volunteers and community members give their time and money to support Brighter Lives on its mission to bring smiles to the faces of our staff and our patients,” he said.

“I’m proud to support an organisation which dedicates so much to improving the lives of north Queenslanders and am delighted to have Freddie and his family here to place an ornament on the tree.”

Brighter Lives has raised $103,000 of their $173,000 target so far.

You can donate to the Brighter Lives fundraiser here: www.givenow.com.au/laser