The Good Weekend today features Sam Stosur and Grayden Moore. Sam and Grayden were doubles partners and trained together in their teenage years. Grayden was an elite tennis player, once ranked in the top 10 in Australia. A skateboarding accident left him clutching to life with a severe brain injury. As he slowly recovered, his parents were told that the only option was for him to be admitted to a nursing home.
While most friends fall away when someone has a catastrophic brain injury, Sam has hung in there with Grayden. 43% of young people in aged care never receive a visit from a friend. Sam Stosur has been a faithful friend and kept in touch with Grayden over the years. They email each other when Sam is overseas and Sam often organises tickets for Grayden to attend the Australian Open or Federation Cup when she is in Australia.
Grayden spends time volunteering his time as a Building Better Lives® Ambassador raising awareness about the need for appropriate accommodation for young people living in nursing homes via media and public speaking opportunities. Grayden says “every young person should be in a place they want to live in with the support to be as independent as possible… every young person should have this choice.”
www.buildingbetterlives.org.au
Building Better Lives® is led by the Summer Foundation www.summerfoundation.org.au
