The Kayak kid and Dr Tony: A lesson in going beyond professional barriers and giving where it was needed

Chris would have been about 13 when I first met him. He wasn’t in trouble at school but just very flat and non-involved. It was hard for me to get on Chris’ wavelength because he just tended to mumble and shrug. Chris didn’t have a dad around and never saw his mum who apparently had a drug problem. He didn’t even have much to do with grandma who lived on her own – apparently grandma was too busy working and didn’t see Chris as her problem. No, Chris lived with his great grandma. Joan was in her late 80’s, very small and stooped with a neck-brace that seemed to be keeping her upright. Chris towered over her but when she said jump, that’s what he’d do.

Joan, as you might gather, was too old and tired for the job she had been called on to do – Chris was lost and lonely but knew granny, as he called her, loved him and wanted the best. Chris and Joan lived in a little shack down near the water and Chris loved everything aquatic – fishing, surfing, boating, swimming.

Joan was talking to Dr Tony her GP about her boy and bemoaning that she just didn’t have the energy or resources to keep up with Chris. As it happened Dr Tony helped to run the local Sea Scouts troop that had got started in the bay and his own son was a keen member. Dr Tony asked Joan if she’d like, he could pick up Chris and take him to the Wednesday afternoon Sea-scouts get-together. Joan was of course delighted, it happened and Chris became almost enthusiastic about this venture - and a grin sometimes furtively flashed across his face.

With Joan’s permission, Dr Tony bought Chris his own kayak and trailer so he could go fishing and exploring in the bay. Chris was absolutely stoked to get his own anything and became a really knowledgeable fisherman – keen to learn all the different names of fish types and other aquatic creatures. Since then we’ve managed to get Chris in one afternoon a week as a volunteer at the local aquatic display centre.

Last I heard, Chris was still in the Sea Scouts, still living with granny who now gets much more in home support, and is still going to school. Where will this story head, who knows, but Chris’s sails are set much straighter now, he stands taller and brighter. There won’t be any public acclaim for Dr Tony, there won’t be any Australia Day awards for Joan but I learnt a lot of respect for frail Joan and mighty appreciation for Dr Tony who, no doubt, breached professional ethics in stepping in as he did – but when you can make a difference for good, it’s a very satisfying feeling. I think Dr Tony goes to bed very satisfied. So to all the givers out there who don’t count the cost, sleep well!