I suddenly realised that it has been a while since a random post about Ross, so how about we fit one in before Christmas? This post however, is more so about a specific doctor of Ross’ during his time fighting leukaemia. Dr James Morton was his main man, amongst the multitude of health carers during the 2 1/2 year battle.
His speciality is as a haematologist oncologist, so basically a doctor of blood cancers – mainly leukaemia’s and lymphoma’s if I am correct. Dr Morton was the brains behind the World’s Greatest Shave, coming up with the idea after a family organised a one-off event of head shavers to raise money for the Foundation. James ran with this original idea hoping it would become a world-wide occurrence, and although it has never really taken off to such a degree, the success of this fundraising venture within Australia has been beyond anybody’s wildest dreams.
Now here comes the interesting part. Have any of you heard of the AEIOU centres throughout Australia? These are early intervention programs for autistic children to enable them to access specialised childcare. And guess what? James and his wife Louise started this themselves after their second child was diagnosed with autism. Two brilliant ideas that although may have been a gamble, have each become a success in their own right.
On a slightly different tangent, Conversations with Richard Fidler on ABC Local radio is a bloody good listen if you ever get the chance. Just for you, I have found a podcast of Fidler speaking with Dr Morton about autism, AEIOU, World’s Greatest Shave and how he came to choose his profession. It takes 50 minutes, so make a cuppa and relax for a while. It is an interesting interview, I promise!
Click this link to listen: http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/08/15/3293532.htm
Captain Coonan's Catch a Cure for Leukaemia Night 