Lending a hand for Simon Noonan

Hi all, reaching out to our extended film family to update you all on the condition of 1st AC Simon Noonan who has suffered a horrific start to the year.

 

For those of you who don't know what happened, I'll give you a outline on what he has endured so far this year. In January, Simon undertook a job in Fiji. Somewhere along the way, he suffered what one would think was an insignificant cut to his knee. He completed the job and returned to Sydney. Four weeks later, on another shoot in Sydney, significant pain and swelling was developing in his leg which caused concern with fellow crew members. He was taken to Northern Beaches Hospital and a scan of his leg revealed Gangrene tissue throughout his leg.

The insignificant cut had allowed a deadly bacteria to enter his body, and for those 4 weeks it was spreading up his leg and was starting to affect his organs when he presented to hospital. The bacteria was determined to be Necrotising Faciitis (Flesh Eating Bacteria)

During the next 2 weeks, Simon endured four surgeries to remove affected muscle tissue. The amount of muscle tissue that has been removed is extensive. It was an eight week stay in Hospital, and now he is home and on the mend.

 

I have been working with Simon in the film industry since our days as Camera Prep Technicians at Panavision. He has always been such a hard worker and a great guy to work with. I've had so many of you in the industry asking about Simon's welfare so it is clear that he is such a well liked member of our film family. The idea to create this GoFundMe page has been discussed with several members of the Camera Department wanting to find some way that we can lend a hand to him in this difficult time.

 

Simon is unaware that I'm creating this page on his behalf. Even though he has been through this horrible drama, he does not blame anyone, and he is the type of person who would never ask for a handout. His main focus is to get himself back to work and to be in the water again, surfing as soon as he can.

 

We are hoping those who can help Simon, would be able to donate some funds to assist him cover the bills and keep him going while he recovers. Currently Simon has been out of work since February, there is a Workers Compensation claim in place, but this will only cover some rehabilitation costs moving forward and most likely only for a three month period. The claim will not cover loss of income for the past three months, or loss of income for any future months. Hopefully we will see Simon back to work soon, but that is in the hands of his Doctors. It's never an easy thing to ask for help, but I have witnessed our film family go above and beyond when someone is doing it tough.

 

Thanking everyone in advance, and I hope we can show Simon a lot of love.

 

Rob Tench