Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Michelle Kathopoulis says her brother Charlie is back in Darwin after being brutally bashed during a trip to Greece

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Michelle Kathopoulis says her brother Charlie is back in Darwin after being brutally bashed during a trip to Greece · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: You might recall just a couple of weeks ago, we
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: spoke to Michelle Cavapulus while she was in Greece after
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: a terrible, terrible situation which had unfolded that saw her
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: brother assaulted in a home invasion and her and her
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: sisters and mum trying their best to bring him back
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  Speaker 1: to Darwin. Now Michelle joins me on the line right now.
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  Speaker 1: Good morning to you, Michelle.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie. How are you.
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  Speaker 1: I'm very well and Michelle, I understand. Good news.
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we're home. If we went on Friday night, Mom
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  Speaker 2: and I and we have bought Charlie home with us too.
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  Speaker 1: Oh you must be so incredibly relieved.
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  Speaker 2: Oh so appreciative, grateful, very relieved.
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  Speaker 1: Michelle, talk us through how you're able to get him home.
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  Speaker 2: So we ended up with another quote from another carrier
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  Speaker 2: called Unicare, which careflightterally put us onto. That quote came
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  Speaker 2: in fifty thousand less than the next price, and with
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  Speaker 2: the gofund me page achieving one hundred and twenty three
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  Speaker 2: thousand dollars in donations, we got to a point where
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  Speaker 2: we were able to kind of start some proceedings and
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  Speaker 2: ask them to look at doing it. So Yeah, it's
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  Speaker 2: a combination of everybody's you know, financial assistance, what mum
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  Speaker 2: had ready to go, and the fact that we got
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  Speaker 2: something that was a little bit more attainable. Yeah. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: we've been able to get him home on a private
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  Speaker 2: plane and fly him into ice.
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  Speaker 1: You at ROYLDO and Hospital, and so he's in it.
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  Speaker 1: See you now here in Darwin.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, yeh, oh, very well cared for.
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  Speaker 1: How relieved is your mum?
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  Speaker 2: Oh, she's stoked beyond words. It's very emotional. It's very overwhelming.
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  Speaker 2: And look it continues here with his care. But you
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  Speaker 2: know we can go home to our families every day.
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  Speaker 2: You know, we're in a place we can understand what's happening.
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  Speaker 2: And the amount of visits and specialists and doctors and
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  Speaker 2: nurses that have just been working around the clock the
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  Speaker 2: last couple of days doing assessments, tests, scans, specialists. They've
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  Speaker 2: done so much. They've done so much in two days,
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  Speaker 2: everything that he need in the last three months in Greece.
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  Speaker 2: It's all happening, all happening.
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  Speaker 1: And Michelle, how is Charlie.
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  Speaker 2: I'm really pleased to say he was awake and alert
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  Speaker 2: for a lot of it. His communication and understanding is
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  Speaker 2: extremely high. His responsive his short term memory is a
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  Speaker 2: bit how you're going, it's coming and going, but that's
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  Speaker 2: sort of expected with the head injury and the isolation.
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  Speaker 2: But he is doing remarkably well. The doctors here are
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  Speaker 2: really impressed with how strong he's been and how far
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  Speaker 2: he's come despite these obstacles of no progression with his
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  Speaker 2: medical condition. But he's a fighter, and yeah, he's doing
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  Speaker 2: really well.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, Michelle, you guys must be so relieved and so
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  Speaker 1: grateful to the community as well for you know, for
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  Speaker 1: their support.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's very overwhelming. It's been an extremely emotional time,
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  Speaker 2: very humbling. We certainly didn't expect this level of support.
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  Speaker 2: There's been a lot of financial contributions that have just
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  Speaker 2: made this possible. I mean, one hundred and twenty three
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  Speaker 2: thousand dollars is not a small amount. It has made
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  Speaker 2: such a difference to us being able to commit to
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  Speaker 2: the rest and then put the rest of the difference
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  Speaker 2: that we didn't have. We've been able to put it
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: on the credit cards and now, so that's good. But
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  Speaker 2: yet I'm just so grateful. My entire family is very
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  Speaker 2: emotional over everybody's contribution. And you know, there's been a
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  Speaker 2: lot of other support that we've been able to get to,
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  Speaker 2: emotional support and even that you know, the people in
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  Speaker 2: our business running the business in our absence. It's just
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  Speaker 2: they've just been so impressed. And it's hard to explain
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: just how happy and surprise and grateful we are with
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  Speaker 2: everybody's support for our family and for Charlie.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, you must just be so relieved that he's home,
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  Speaker 1: that he's back in Darwin and you know, able to
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  Speaker 1: be at the hospital here in Darwin and get the
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  Speaker 1: treatment that he needs.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. By Wednesday, we should have a fair clear idea
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  Speaker 2: on what is necessary, how much is involved, and that
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  Speaker 2: step by step process towards the plan pick his recovery,
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  Speaker 2: which we just weren't getting. But I've got to say
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  Speaker 2: super impressed with RDH and ICU and the director of
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  Speaker 2: the ICU, which had accepted Charlie Charlie's case many weeks ago,
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  Speaker 2: which was something we couldn't get in Greece, and they've
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  Speaker 2: just been wonderful, very attentive and caring and very thorough. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: and we've been a few days. We're going to know
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  Speaker 2: what's involved and how long it's going to take and
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  Speaker 2: what he needs. Yeah, can look towards now a recovery
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  Speaker 2: and a progress for his recovery.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, I tell you what, Michelle, it is the thing
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  Speaker 1: that I love the most about the Northern Territory is
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  Speaker 1: that when something goes wrong, when there is a territory
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  Speaker 1: and in need, when there is a community member, you know,
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  Speaker 1: like like your family, who needed that bit of support.
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  Speaker 1: I love the way the Northern Territory rallies behind each
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  Speaker 1: other and supports each other because you know, none of
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  Speaker 1: us know when we're going to be in a situation
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  Speaker 1: where we where we need each other and we you know,
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  Speaker 1: we need that little bit of help.
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  Speaker 2: It's very special. It's very special. Indeed, it really is.
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  Speaker 1: It really is, Michelle. I'm so pleased to hear that
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  Speaker 1: you've got your brother home. Your mother must be so relieved.
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  Speaker 1: I'm really glad that you know that things are going well.
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  Speaker 1: And please keep us up to date and let us
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  Speaker 1: know how Charlie's going.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely on behalf of my family and my mum and
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  Speaker 2: Charlie too. We just like to thank everyone for their support.
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  Speaker 2: I mean even your support in these interviews and being
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  Speaker 2: able to speak and you address our community to say
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  Speaker 2: thank you. It's a relief for us as well to
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  Speaker 2: be able to have that opportunity. I haven't had a
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  Speaker 2: chance to get up on the goho fund the page,
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  Speaker 2: which i'll do today that I'll update and upload some
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  Speaker 2: photos and videos as and being transported, and just let
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  Speaker 2: everybody know the great news and the great achievement and
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  Speaker 2: how their help has really helped all of us. Thank
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  Speaker 2: you very much.
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  Speaker 1: Good on you, Michelle. Thank you so much for having
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  Speaker 1: a chat with us this morning. I know that there's
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  Speaker 1: a lot of people listening who were really concerned for
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  Speaker 1: your family when we've spoken to you when you're in Greece,
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  Speaker 1: and and you know some of you would be the same,
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  Speaker 1: all those names as we are coming up on the
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  Speaker 1: go fundme page, all people that you and I and
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  Speaker 1: everybody else knows around the community, all rallying together so
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  Speaker 1: that we didn't Yeah, exactly.
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  Speaker 2: Incredible.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, Oh, Michelle, I'm so pleased that you know that
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  Speaker 1: you're able to bring Charlie home. Thanks so much for
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: having a chat with us this morning.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks for your time too.
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: Thank you, Like