Team delivers compassionate care for teenage burns patient and her family.

When Tahlia Griffiths suffered a burn on a hiking camp in late 2024, two things quickly came to mind – would it affect her ability to compete in her beloved gymnastics and would she still be able to attend her school formal. 

The teenager was on an extended Duke Edinburgh Award hike near the Victorian border when a pot of two-minute noodles she was cooking tipped onto her left leg. 

Her grateful parents, Gary and Kylie, say the first-class treatment she received at the Concord Burns Unit meant she was able to attend the formal just days after her initial treatment at Concord and she is now preparing for state gymnastic trials in a couple of months. 

Kylie said the professionalism of the Burns Unit staff was amazing, but the family was most affected by the team’s compassion. 

“I think the biggest thing for me is they genuinely cared,” she said.  

Gary said: “The whole crew there showed, empathy towards Tahlia, treated Tahlia as an individual, not as a number, not as just a patient.” 

The couple said the Burns Unit team listened to Tahlia’s concerns about gymnastics and attending her formal and offered solutions to ensure her recovery took them into account. 

The physiotherapist who spoke to the family gave Tahlia exercises to ensure she regained the full breadth of movement in her leg, while occupational therapists located skin-coloured bandages so she could wear her formal dress without her injury looking too obvious. 

Now preparing for state trials in gymnastics, Tahlia said she felt no effect of her injuries after her treatment at Concord and follow-up appointments. 

“It was great that they thought about that [healing] process and wanted to help me get back to where I was before,” the 16-year-old said. 

“[The injury] literally doesn’t affect me at all ... there’s no difference.” 

Gary and Kylie said they were grateful for the work of everyone on the Burns Unit team. 

“Every single person was compassionate and very knowledgeable, and we could not have asked for a better experience,” they said.