In June, we told you that Greenwich para swimmer Sam Pratt was stuck at Royal North Shore Hospital, not because she was too unwell to leave, but because her house had stairs to get in the front door and a bathroom she could not use in a wheelchair.
That house is now ready. The lift is installed and running. The accessible bathroom is finished and tiled. Every grab rail is in. All that is missing is Sam.
Where Things Stand
Sam is still in hospital. Her mum Geraldine Pratt says the family is now hoping she will be home by Christmas.
In the meantime, the work that locals funded and donated their way through over the past five months is done and waiting for her. A lift runs between the downstairs entrance and the living level, so Sam can get into her own home without facing a single step. The bathroom has been rebuilt as a level-entry wet room with a linear floor drain, a hand-held shower on a rail, grab rails on three walls and a wall-hung basin she can roll under.
It is, frankly, a nicer bathroom than most of us have. It was built almost entirely out of donated time, donated materials and reduced invoices.
“Sadly, she is still in hospital, but the home renovations are complete and waiting for her return. Thank you so much for assisting with spreading the word to help get Sam home. We couldn’t have achieved what we did without you. Hopefully she’ll be home by Christmas.”
Geraldine Pratt, Sam’s mother
The Pratt Family’s Thank You
Geraldine has asked In the Cove to publish the following list, so that everyone who helped build Sam a safe and accessible home can be properly acknowledged. These are her words and her list.
Donated their time, expertise or products for free
- Patricia Sissons, Sissons Architects, who created the bathroom plans
- Najee Elia, Elia Bathrooms in Lane Cove, who donated all of the bathroom fixtures
- Eddie Hoe and his team at Tile Factory Outlet (TFO) in Alexandria, who donated all of the bathroom tiles
- Carly Brewer from Brewers Swimming organised for her husband (owner of Stokes Construction) and brother-in-law, who stripped out the old bathroom
- Josh Baker and the entire Lane Cove Swim Club
- Jenny May and Lane Cove Rotary
- Wade Death, Martin Hales and the team at Jack & Co Northwood
- Renee Maxwell and In the Cove
- All of the family, friends and Greenwich and Lane Cove locals who gave so generously to the fundraising campaign
Trades who contributed at reduced fees
- John and Sharen Braams and their team at Resilift, who supplied and installed the lift
- Ben Waller and his team, who completed the bathroom
- Steven Lee, Bellevue Electrical
- Richard Romano, Romano Constructions
- Dan Hickey, Hickey Plumbing
- Ricardo Pereira, Dee Why Rendering
- Casey Hodge, Hodgey’s Waterproofing
- Ben and Paul Jones, tilers
“To every person on this list, and to everyone who donated, shared a post or simply asked how Sam was going: thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.
Many of you had never met Sam. You didn’t have to help, and you did it anyway. You gave your time, your skills, your products and your money, and you gave them with so much kindness. Trades turned up on their days off. Businesses donated without being asked twice. Strangers became friends.
When Sam got sick, our family felt very alone. This community showed us we never were. Your generosity and compassion have given Sam something no hospital could: a home she can come back to, safely and independently.
We will never be able to thank you enough. When Sam walks, rolls or swims her way back home, every one of you will be a part of it.”
Geraldine Pratt, on behalf of the Pratt family
How We Got Here
Sam is 29, a national champion in the 200m freestyle and a member of the 2026/27 Australian Para Futures Squad. She had already rebuilt her life once, learning to walk again after a below-knee amputation in 2024. In November 2025 she lost feeling and movement in her legs during a tumble turn at the Australian Institute of Sport and was diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder. She has been in hospital ever since.
In July, Jack & Co and Lane Cove Swim Club ran a two-day fundraiser at Northwood that raised $4,230.19. Lane Cove Rotary secured a $1,000 Rotary Australia Benevolent Society Compassionate Grant. The family and friends’ appeal has passed $66,000. Between the money and the donated labour, the house got done.
Getting Sam out of hospital and into it is the part that is still in front of her, and the costs do not stop at the front door. Therapy, equipment and accessible transport all sit ahead of her. For anyone who has asked, that appeal is still open, as is Lane Cove Rotary’s tax-deductible appeal.
When Sam does get home, we are told the first thing she wants to do is get in the pool. We fully intend to be there for that one.
Earlier coverage: Greenwich Para Swimmer Sam Pratt Needs Help to Get Home and Jack & Co and Lane Cove Swim Club Host Weekend Fundraiser.
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