Sophie Delezio’s incredible survival story is fuelling her exciting new chapter
From hospital patient to podcast host.
Many Australians will remember Sophie Delezio as the little girl who survived two devastating accidents as a child.
In December 2003, when she was just two and a half years old, a car crashed through her daycare classroom after the driver suffered a seizure, leaving her with third-degree burns to 85 to 90 per cent of her body. She lost both legs below the knee, her right hand, and her right ear, and spent six and a half months in hospital, including two to three months in intensive care.
“My parents were asked many, many times if they wanted to turn my life support machine off,” Sophie recently shared. “And obviously they didn’t, because that’s why I’m here today.”
A few years later, Sophie was hit by a car a second time, suffering a brain injury and losing her sense of smell.
It was throughout these harrowing experiences that Sophie was treated at Sydney Children’s Hospital, Westmead – the very network she’s now partnering with for her latest venture.
“I spent a lot of time in hospital as a kid, surrounded by incredible doctors, nurses, and specialists who became like family,” Sophie said. “And now, as a new mum, I’m experiencing it from a completely different perspective.”
That new perspective has inspired Sophie to host Kids Health Explained, a brand-new podcast produced by the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network. Each episode will see her sit down with leading clinicians and specialists to tackle the health questions parents ask most – from stings and school stress to flu season and navigating the healthcare system.
“If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably found yourself Googling your child’s symptoms at 2am, tossing up between whether to take them to the Emergency Department or to manage at home,” Sophie wrote on social media.
“This isn’t just about medicine,” Sophie explained. “This is about a mum sitting down with people who live and breathe this every day.”
The project is the latest chapter for Sophie, who has built a career as a disability advocate and keynote speaker since her childhood accidents. As she teased in a video shared just before the podcast announcement, she has “lots of little side projects” in the works – with Kids Health Explained the first to be revealed.
Kids Health Explained launches Wednesday, 1 July.
