Samuel Morris Foundation

Preventing Drowning, Supporting Non-Fatal Drowning Survivors

You can also find us on

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Background
    • Mission Statement
    • Strategic Plan
    • Patron
    • Ambassadors
      • Kara Leo – Paralympic Swimmer
      • Mike Baird
      • Scott Cam
      • David Bradbury
      • Carol Brown
    • Awards
  • Latest News
  • Support Services
  • Partners
    • Peak Bodies
    • Businesses
    • Swim Schools
  • Resources
    • For Parents
      • Find a learn to swim centre
      • Home Pool Safety Checks
      • Pool Fencing
      • Teaching your own children swimming and water safety
    • For Swim Schools
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / About / About Us / Background

Background

Samuel Morris was a bright and happy cuddly little two year old until 9th April 2006 when he had a non-fatal drowning in the families backyard pool.

Through the extraordinary efforts of Samuel’s mum, his neighbours Les and Shirley, an unknown passerby, the members of “A”platoon at Cranebrook Fire Station, Maggie and Haydon from the NSW Ambulance Service and the Emergency Department team at Nepean Hospital Samuel survived this tragic accident.

After a short time being stabilised at Nepean Hospital he was transported to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at the Childrens Hospital at Westmead where he remained on life support for several days. After nine days in PICU he was moved to the Hunter Baillie Ward where he stayed for four months. During this time Samuel received first class nursing care and intensive therapy from the Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Neurology and Brain Injury teams.

Unfortunately as a result of this accident Samuel experienced a severe Hypoxic Brain Injury and was left with a range of severe disabilities.

Samuel’s disabilities meant that he required a range of equipment and ongoing therapy. Most of the equipment that Samuel and children like him need is VERY expensive and the waiting lists to receive this equipment can be up to two years long.

Samuel’s dad is a member of Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW formerly New South Wales Fire Brigades) and in the true spirit of the fire brigade family members of the FRNSW rallied around, supported by members of the other emergency services and some local businesses in the Penrith area. These efforts raised a significant amount of money to provide the equipment that Samuel initially needed.

Samuel was very fortunate to have had such incredible community support that truly made a difference to him and his family.

We believe that no child should have to wait for equipment that is essential to their care and quality of life. So the Samuel Morris Foundation was established with these aims:

  • Providing aids and equipment relevant to the childs disabilities to provide them with the best possible quality of life
  • Advocacy to ensure the needs of children with hypoxic brain injuries are met through the establishment of a National Disability Insurance Scheme
  • Fostering research into the prevention, treatment and outcomes of children with hypoxic brain injuries and associated disabilities
  • participate in drowning prevention and water safety campaigns with established water safety organisations
  • Advocacy for changes to Standards, Legislation, Regulations and their enforcement to improve the safety of domestic swimming pool, and to improve safety around other water sources
  • Establish long term collaboration and partnerships

Print Friendly
  • Winter Water Safety Tip
  • Supervision around water
  • Portable pool safety- fence it
  • Non-fatal drowning injuries
  • Outcomes of the drowning process
  • Four actions to prevent toddler drowning
  • Check your pool fences and gates
  • Arms Reach Around Water

Join our newsletter

Keep up to date with the latest posts and information from the Samuel Morris Foundation by joining our newsletter service.

Recent Posts

  • Keep us in your Facebook feed
  • Let’s be clear about drowning and non-fatal drowning!
  • Media Release: NSW Govt decision continues to risk children’s lives
  • One year on…
  • What drowning really looks like; A first hand account

Search Form

Latest News

Keep us in your Facebook feed

Keep us in your Facebook feed

  We really appreciate people linking to us via social media and we would like you to keep us in your Facebook feed. For the longest time, Facebook gave you no ability to control what content you see or keep in your Facebook news feed. We really appreciate how many people  have already “liked” our Facebook page. But only […]

Featured Page

Support Services

Support Services

 Supporting children disabled by non-fatal drowning A core focus of the Samuel Morris Foundation is supporting children who are disabled as a result of a non-fatal drowning (or what is often incorrectly referred to as near drowning) or other hypoxic … Read More.....

Featured Page

Pool Fencing

Pool Fencing

Is your pool as SAFE as it can and should be?     Video lessons on correct pool fencing. The Samuel Morris Foundation has been working in partnership with KidsHealth at the Childrens Hospital at Westmead and the Swimming Pool and … Read more

Featured Page

Find a learn to swim centre

Find a learn to swim centre

Congratulations on taking the first step in giving your kids a skill for life! Getting your children involved in water safety and swimming lessons is one of the key steps you can take to help make your children safer around the water. Accredited … read more....

© 2023 Samuel Morris Foundation · Rainmaker Platform