Jandamarra’s journey
JANELLE MILES MORE than 20 years after a stranger set him alight in his Cairns schoolyard, Jandamarra O’Shane is having counselling for anxiety and depression, but he still sees blessings in the day that changed his life forever as a six-year-old.
One of them is having internationally renowned burns surgeon Stuart Pegg care for him, crediting the now retired medical specialist as his “lifesaver”.
Jandamarra, who turns 27 on August 15, has had so many surgeries since receiving burns to 70 per cent of his body in 1996, he stopped counting at 40. He admits he’d like to go “five years without seeing a doctor”.
But Professor Pegg had such a profound impact on him, he’s keen to meet him again.
Now aged 85, Prof Pegg is considered the father of burns surgery in Queensland, establishing the state’s only burns centres – one for adults and another for children.
Just having the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital adult burns centre named after Pegg, who retired in 2006, comforted Jandamarra when he had surgery there in July 2013.
“The ward was decked out with his name and his picture was posted up, that was a good feeling, knowing that even though he’s not there in person, you can still see him and get that feeling that you’re at ease, that everything’s going to be all right,” Jandamarra said.
He joins other Queensland burns patients in paying tribute to Pegg for saving their lives.
As Jandamarra continues to deal with the aftermath of a crime which stole his innocence, he’s finding peace in connecting to his culture as a member of the Kuku Yalanji Aboriginal people of Far North Queensland.
“The most popular spot in our country would be Mossman Gorge,” he said.
“That’s a place of healing. I try to get there as much as I can.
“You walk away feeling more positive and see that positive energy spread to other people. That’s always good.” screens on Sky News Monday to Thursday at 9pm