Non-binary battle as 63-year-old Perth worker sacked for calling colleague ‘he' not ‘they'
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Non-binary battle as 63-year-old Perth worker sacked for calling colleague 'he' not 'they'
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West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
National Socialist Network ramp up activity in WA, neo-Nazis stage protest on Kwinana Freeway
The West Australian exclusive National Socialist Network ramp up activity in WA, neo-Nazis stage protest on Kwinana Freeway
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Bathroom haven unveiled for WA kid who beat cancer
During a gruelling cancer treatment that left him with a third degree burn on his back, fevers and unable to walk, it was the bath where Noah Johnson found solace. Treatment became all-consuming when Noah was diagnosed with ewing sarcoma at just 11 years old, leaving him needing to endure 31 rounds of radiation and 14 rounds of chemotherapy. A stark image of Noah sitting in a hospital bath with a radiation burn the size of a dinner plate and so thin you could see his spine touched hearts around the State last year as Telethon raised a record $83.3 million for sick kids. A warm bath became a haven for the now 13-year-old during treatment — a space where he could zone out from a reality no kid should face. But the bath at his family home was so small the water would not even come up to his waist. Noah Johnson underwent 31 rounds of intense radiation treatment leaving him with third degree burns on his back. Credit: Unknown / Supplied Thanks to the Build Now Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation inspired by Telethon to help WA families, a new bathroom was unveiled for Noah on Friday including a bath so deep he can submerge his whole body. The charity supports families in need through building projects including making homes more accessible for children with disabilities or just creating a fun space for a sick kid. Noah could not wipe the grin off his face as he had his first bubble bath in the new bathroom, even fit out with a pillow and a holder for his iPad. 'The baths helped me. They meant a lot because that was my comfort zone and no one would disturb me when I was in the bath,' Noah said. 'The old bath was small and it would make me itchy. Noah, 12, was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma. Credit: Daniel Wilkins / The West Australian 'This bath is really cool and I really like how it has a pillow rest. I love it.' The bathroom has perks for the rest of his family as well with everything refitted including a new rain showerhead that Noah's stepdad can fit under. 'When Noah was in chemo he got that burn on his back and he found a love for having baths because it brought his temperature down and made him zone out from what was going on,' his mum Kristy Johnson said. 'Whenever he wasn't feeling well, he'd get in the bath and just stay in there for hours on end. 'Having the Build Now Foundation come in and help us and give him a new bath that he can fit in is just amazing.' Noah, with his mop of hair, is a far cry from just seven months ago, when the chemotherapy and radiation used to treat the cancer left him too weak to walk, with his weight dropping to just 35kg. He is now able to be a kid again, celebrating six months in remission on June 11. Noah said he was happy that he had been able to go to school more and see his friends but missed pranking the Perth Children's Hospital nurses. Noah Leaving a check up at the Perth Children's Hospital. Credit: Daniel Wilkins / The West Australian Stepdad Adam Jenkins said the family could finally smile again, admitting there were not many happy moments while Noah was undergoing treatment in 2024. 'He still gets a lot of muscle fatigue but he has his appetite back and building his muscle back up is the next step,' he said. 'Last year, there was a routine of work, hospital, treatment, fevers, tests — real down in the dumps and trying to cheer him up while we were trying to keep ourselves going as well. Noah has finished chemo but the bath still gives him some peace and comfort. Credit: Ross Swanborough / The West Australian 'Now we can actually smile again. There wasn't much smiling going on last year but it's great to come out through the other side.' Build Now Foundation founder Stephen Mansfield, who is also part of the Telethon Home Builder organisation group, said the fit-out was possible through the Reclab and Noah's local community, who helped raise funds. 'It's incredible to come in and redo their entire bathroom and now provide him with a big spa bath to be able to relax, have fun, and just be a kid and enjoy that time,' he said. Telethon will be held on October 18 and 19.
Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Mum dumped baby's body in bag behind sofa after deceiving partner, court hears
WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT. Australian mum Monique Ellen Burton attempted to hide her baby's body behind the sofa in a case which has been described as "tragic on numerous levels" A court has heard how a woman hid the body of her own baby behind the sofa, after cruelly deceiving her partner. During sentencing on Friday (August 1), Monique Ellen Burton was handed a 19-month suspended jail sentence after pleading guilty to one count of interfering with a corpse. The 35-year-old West Australian mum, who appeared before Perth District Court, concealed her pregnancy from Shaun Balaam, her partner of 14 years. When Balaam, who was not the child's biological father, quizzed her about whether or not she was pregnant, Burton insisted that she appeared bloated, as she was suffering from liver cirrhosis. It comes after a woman, 20, was found dead on bus with 26 iPhones glued to her body. reports that, on the evening of August 19, 2022, after Balaam had gone to sleep, Burton gave birth to a boy on the bathroom floor of her Geraldton home. After wrapping up the newborn in clothing and placing him in a plastic bag, Burton hid him behind the couch in the lounge. As reported by The Sydney Morning Herald, a post-mortem examination could not determine if the baby had been stillborn. However, Burton stated that this had been the case, with Judge Darren Renton noting: "You said there was no noise from the baby and he looked like a doll." The judge also remarked that Burton's interference with the body was 'naive' and not intended to be permanent, describing it as 'an 'out of sight, out of mind' act.' The morning after Burton gave birth in secret, Balaam discovered Burton on the sofa with blood on her legs. She told him she was feeling nauseous and unwell, but still continued to deny that she'd been pregnant even after being taken to the hospital. Later that same day, Balaam returned home and began searching for a phone belonging to his mum, who'd been caring for their children at the house. It was then that he came across a black plastic bag, hidden behind the couch. Although he couldn't see what was inside, Balaam did feel a heavy, hard lump, which he suspected could have been a baby's head, given Burton's history of hiding her pregnancies. The court heard how Balaan didn't check whether or not there was a baby inside the bag, and instead wrapped it in another bag, which he placed in the freezer. Eventually, after medical tests indicated that she had indeed recently given birth, Burton confessed to hospital staff, admitting: 'I don't know what is wrong with me". On August 25, 2022, the child, referred to only as 'Baby Burton', was found in a chest freezer on the back veranda of Burton's home. Balaam told officers that he hadn't known what was in the bag or checked inside, and had freaked out at the possibility that it could be a baby. He explained that he'd put the bag in the freezer, as this is what would have been done at a morgue. After being arrested and interviewed, Burton told officers that her memory was "really fuzzy" and that she'd disassociated. Judge Renton said: "This is a tragic case on numerous levels." Taking into account Burton's depressive episodes since the tragic death of her 15-month-old son two years before, from medical complications, Judge Renton conceded that her criminal culpability was 'the lower end' of the scale, while asserting that her actions 'involved a degree of indignity towards Baby Burton'. The judge remarked that the fact that Balaam was not the child's biological father could have partly explained Burton's actions. However, she had denied that this was the reason why she kept her pregnancy a secret. Although he had some misgivings about Burton's credibility, as per ABC News Australia, Judge Renton told the court that "it seems likely that baby Burton was stillborn". It was also noted that Burton, who has expressed remorse for her actions, had hidden two prior pregnancies, with one child passing away at a young age. On top of the aforementioned guilty plea, Burton also pleaded guilty to multiple charges of fraud related to a GoFundMe campaign. This page, which was set up by a friend who'd been informed that Burton was terminally ill, had raised more than $3,000 AUD. Although Burton, who has an "adjustment disorder", had not started the campaign herself, it's understood that she had been aware that her friend intended to do so. As well as a 19-month prison term suspended for 12 months, Burton is also required to undergo a treatment program focused on personal development, psychiatric needs, and parenting. Last year, Balaam was sentenced to a 12-month community-based order over his charges.
