Oakbank legend John Glatz and Charleston’s Heather Hartley share their stories of survival, a year after the Cudlee Creek bushfire
Oakbank racing legend John Glatz nearly died a year ago. Now he’s using his ordeal in the Cudlee Creek bushfire to give hope to other burns victims.
Adelaide Hills
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Twelve months after being pulled from the flames of the Cudlee Creek bushfires, racing legend John Glatz is full speed ahead on his road to recovery.
Not only has the Woodside local started construction on his new family home, but he’s back on the tractor, albeit not the one he was pulled from when the flames roared through his property a year ago.
He’s also signed on to become a mentor for other burns victims at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, bringing hope to those who could otherwise succumb to the pain.
“They’ve asked me to start coming down to the RAH to help other badly burned patients that aren’t coping,” Mr Glatz said.
“So it’s a bit like a peer program, as you do get a lot of people in there that can’t cope with the dressing changes and just want to give up.
“But you can’t give up, because if you do, you’re dead.”
Mr Glatz sustained 60 per cent burns to his body when he passed out on his tractor fighting the fires on December 20.
The last thing he remembers is a motorbike explosion 5m in front of him, before waking up in hospital after 10 days in coma.
His injuries were so severe doctors had to resuscitate the 77-year-old on two occasions.
But he says nothing compared to the pain experienced on a Sunday morning, earlier this year.
“The nurse came in and told me I had pseudomonas (a bacterial infection) under all the dressings and that they would have to pull them all off,” he said.
“Unfortunately they weren’t set up with any serious painkillers, so I went for three hours, absolutely screaming on the top of my voice, because that’s how painful it was.
“The nurses were crying ... and the next morning, the pain doctor came in and said they would never allow this again.
“That’s was the only time when I said to my wife: ‘I don’t know if I can take much more’, but it turned out that I could and that’s an important lesson to pass on.”
Today, Glatz is largely back to his former self, requiring little ongoing medical attention.
His home visits from nurses ended a month ago but he does still attend monthly physio sessions at the RAH.
There, he’s become a popular “test subject” for training physios from all over South Australia.
“They like using me as a guinea pig,” he jokes.
“Every time I go there, there’s someone new and I’ve had physios from Coober Pedy, Alice Springs, Mount Gambier and even Streaky Bay.
“They don’t get to see a lot of burn victims like me, patients that survive, so they all try to learn as much as they can.”
His ongoing physio sessions have also been helpful with getting Glatz back to working on his farm – albeit against his doctor’s advice.
“They told me that I won’t be able to work for 12 months and that I won’t be able to get on the tractor and do hay (collection),” he said.
”But I just told them no, as I want things done properly ... and I like to come here when I need to get away.
“But I will admit that there have been some restrictions, like I can’t twist my neck much anymore because of skin grafts and when you use a round baler, you unfortunately have to turn all the way around to look behind you.
But I’ve dealt with that too; I’ve now bought two reversing cameras and put them in the tractor. So now, all I have to do is look ahead.”
Mr Glatz is a well-known identity in the horse racing community, having been chairman of Oakbank Racing Club for 25 years.
Pod home a life saver for bushfire victim
She lost her home in bushfires, has been living in a converted shipping container for six months and now has been diagnosed with bone marrow cancer. But Charleston woman Heather Hartley considers herself lucky.
The 74-year-old is one of around 36 Hills and Kangaroo Island residents to have been a recipients of a pod home, a temporary residence for bushfire victims donated by the Minderoo Foundation following the Black Summer bushfires.
With construction on her new home having just begun, Ms Hartley said the pod had been a true lifesaver in recent months, considering she was forced to live in a borrowed caravan after the fires.
“It’s a real upgrade as it has a toilet and a shower,” she said.
“The recovery centre has now also organised an airconditioner and a flyscreen for me, because once the door is open, everything comes in and with the hot weather it can get quite warm as it really is just a tin box.
“I consider myself lucky and careful what goes where and I’m mindful that eventually it will go to someone else in need.”
Ms Hartley lost her family home of 27 years on December 20 when the Cudlee Creek bushfire tore through the Adelaide Hills.
As well as her home, Ms Hartley lost sheds, four antique horse-drawn vehicles and other rare horse equipment in the fire.
The blazes also took the life of her neighbour, Ron Selth.
Despite the losses, Ms Hartley counts herself lucky despite facing more challenges over the months that followed.
“I am very positive, but it did get to a stage a few months ago where I thought: ‘I don’t want to be here anymore’,” she said.
“Everything was taking too long and I spent most of my time cleaning up and chopping trees down.
“I also have a 94-year-old mother that is interesting and I’ve just been diagnosed with bone marrow cancer, so it’s been an interesting year.
“But overall I’ve been lucky as I have two sons that are very hopeful, which makes me feel sorry for the people that don’t have anyone.”
Ms Hartley said she hoped 2021 would bring better fortunes, including the completion of her new home.
“They’ve dug the foundations and put the plumbing in and put the wire mash down (last week), in readiness to pour the concrete slab,” she said.
“So hopefully I’ll be in the new home by mid next year – but until then, I’ll be living here, in my little pod.”
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