Fremantle Dockers players Jacob Ballard and Michael Wood with Alex Indich (14-Willagee),Hugo Pike (16-Mt Pleasant),Kaisha Hunt (17-Palmyra) and Emma MacBeth (7-Leeming)
Camera IconFremantle Dockers players Jacob Ballard and Michael Wood with Alex Indich (14-Willagee),Hugo Pike (16-Mt Pleasant),Kaisha Hunt (17-Palmyra) and Emma MacBeth (7-Leeming) Credit: Supplied/Martin Kennealey

Four brave locals

Staff ReporterMelville Gazette

The Dockers, in association with the South Metropolitan Area Health Service, present the awards annually to young people undergoing treatment.

– Kaisha Hunt (17), of Palmyra, was recently admitted to the Fremantle Hospital Intensive Care Unit with septicaemia causing pneumonia and septic arthritis of her foot.

Eventually, Kaisha was transferred to the children’s ward, where she slowly recovered from pneumonia. Medical staff had to wait until her lungs were strong enough to endure an operation before taking her into surgery to fix the infection in her foot.

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– Hugo Pike (16), of Mt Pleasant, spent his 16th birthday in an ambulance and hospital bed as he endured one of the worst cases of a perforated appendix his surgeon had ever seen.

Dad Damian said Hugo was at the peak of his rowing fitness at the time and it was particularly hard for him to watch instead of participate in the prestigious WA rowing regatta the Head of the River.

– Alex Indich (14), of Willagee, was admitted to hospital four times last year, but it was his last visit that was the most serious of all.

In December, he was in Fremantle Hospital with asthma and pneumonia, and spent the first week on ventilation in the Intensive Care Unit. Mum Annette is very proud of the way Alex has taken responsibility for his asthma, which requires him to take regular medication, morning and night.

– Emma MacBeth (7), of Leeming, developed a high fever and a very swollen and painful right eye, with her parents rushing her to the after-hours GP, followed by a dash to the Emergency Department last September. She was diagnosed with orbital cellulitis, putting pressure on her optic nerve and jeopardising her eyesight.

After surgery to drain an abscess and a 10-day hospital stay, Emma was lucky to retain her vision.