Brave Tom loses his fight for life - Terror hits home: [2 Edition]
Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 13 Nov 2002: 7.
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Abstract
Family friend Michelle Schofield said [Tom Singer], suffering severe burns to more than 60 per cent of his body and severe shrapnel wounds, had fought valiantly for life.
Tom was in Bali with his friend Ryan James and his mother Michelle James and step-father Steve Purcell.
Tom's aunt and uncle, Alison and Norm Nugent, who were holidaying in Bali at the time, were contacted by his parents, and dashed to the Sanglah Hospital. They searched the wards, found him and he was put on one of the first medical evacuation flights to Darwin.
IT became a symbol of the Bali bombing -- the kindness of strangers in the face of terror, a young woman helping a young man she had never met flee a disaster.
That boy, 17-year-old Tom Singer, has now lost his battle for life after spending a month in the intensive care unit at Royal Brisbane Hospital.
He suffered a stroke in the early hours of Saturday morning and died on Monday around midday.
The photograph published on the front page of The Australian on October 14 showed Tom being helped by Hannabeth Luke, who lost her boyfriend in theblast.
His trip to Bali was the first overseas trip of his life.
Tom, who was in Year 11 at Pagewood Marist College in Sydney's southeast, had worked hard babysitting for friends and working at the Reject Shop in Maroubra to save the money to go.
He was renowned for his laconic sense of humour and easygoing attitude to life. "Nothing was a problem for him," a friend said.
The boy's mother Megan Singer, from Kingsford, last night thanked the intensive care unit staff, whom she said gave 200 per cent.
Family friend Michelle Schofield said Tom, suffering severe burns to more than 60 per cent of his body and severe shrapnel wounds, had fought valiantly for life.
"I have known Tom since he was a baby," she said.
"He babysat my kids and they adored him. He was a guardian angel to his little sister Hannah.
"We are all devastated. He had fought so very, very hard and been so incredibly brave."
Tom was a keen surfer and had just discovered a passion for golf.
Ms Schofield said the family had been comforted by the overwhelming response to their son's predicament, with many people sending tributes through www.realsurf.com.au.
Tom was in Bali with his friend Ryan James and his mother Michelle James and step-father Steve Purcell.
Mr Purcell, who returned to the Sari Club in search of Tom, suffered burns to 40 per cent of his body and is still in Royal Brisbane Hospital.
Tom's aunt and uncle, Alison and Norm Nugent, who were holidaying in Bali at the time, were contacted by his parents, and dashed to the Sanglah Hospital. They searched the wards, found him and he was put on one of the first medical evacuation flights to Darwin.
Illustration
Caption: Easygoing: Tom Singer; Photo: Photo
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