TIGERS CLUB NEWS ARCHIVE

TIGERS NEWS
Wednesday 6th April 2005

Bali survivor visits courageous young Tiger

The skin grafts are healing and the pain is still there, but who would have thought the worst part would be toughing out that itch you just can't scratch?

AFL star and Bali bombing survivor Jason McCartney knows all too well those moments of frustration that Queanbeyan recruit Daniel Cuttiford, 16, is enduring.

Cuttiford suffered second-degree burns to 25 per cent of his body - his right leg, most of his left leg and his hands - in a school camping accident on February 24.An emergency flight to Sydney's Concord Hospital and three skin grafts later, Cuttiford is well on the road to recovery. The Bathurst football export even has plans to rejoin the Tigers for AFL Canberra 2006 preseason training. The only trouble is, those teeth-clenching itches on his legs just won't go away. ``The pain comes and goes, it depends what I'm doing,'' Cuttiford said.

``Just sitting here is pretty much no pain but standing up after you've been laying down can hurt sometimes.''McCartney, who suffered burns to 50 per cent of his body when terrorists bombed Paddy's Bar in Bali in October 2002, is quick to jump in.

``do you get itchy yet?'' McCartney asks. ``Yeah, all the time,'' Cuttiford confirms. ``It's pretty frustrating, the extreme itching. That can get pretty bad.''

McCartney, who was lucky to survive the Bali bomb blast that killed 202 people, met Cuttiford in Queanbeyan lost week, on the youngster's first day out of Concord hospital since his camping accident. The night before, Cuttiford finished reading McCartney's book, After Bali.

The pair discussed everything from the lengthy rehabilitation to new skin replacement technology, including Cuttiford's TransCyte treatment, and what protective tights to wear over pressure garments at footy training. ``He's picking my brain. He's asking about a publisher because he wants to write a book,'' McCartney joked.

McCartney has become a role-model for burns survivors since making a courageous one-game return to AFL in 2003 before retiring. His wife Nerissa, a Melbourne teacher, was appointed last week as a schools coordinator and fundraiser for The Kids Foundation, helping child burns victims.

Despite the severity of his own burns and lengthy rehabilitation, McCartney has maintained a humorous outlook. ``My advice for anyone who hasn't suffered burns is if you're going to hurt yourself, break an arm or a leg,'' he laughed. ``The worst thing you can do is worry about the `why me' or `what if'. You need all your energy looking forward.''

The Queanbeyan Tigers thank Jason for taking the time to visit Daniel, and we continue to wish both well in their recoveries from their injuries.

Story by Scott Walsh, Canberra Times

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