
I was born in Melbourne as one of six children, a set of twins at the top and another at the bottom. I don’t know how my parents did it, six children under six years old. My wife Julie and I had three children in six years, which was more than a handful. Our Christmas get togethers are hectic with many nephews and nieces running around but are great fun.
I am one of the twins at the top of the family with a twin brother. It is great being a twin, I always had someone to kick a footy with when I was younger and attending school for the first time with a sibling by your side was great.

I married Julie in 1993 and have three beautiful boys who are all still at home with us. It can get pretty noisy, particularly when their mates come over for a get together, which happens most weekends but has been quieter during the Covid pandemic lockdown in Melbourne.
I played Australian Rules football and cricket at school, with some cricket games extending into my forties in the veteran league playing fortnightly, which fortunately gave us a good break between games. I didn’t make many runs but could bowl at a reasonable pace, so managed to get some wickets. I now watch my three boys play football with their old school, which is a great standard and good to watch. We also regularly go together to watch the Hawthorn football club play at the MCG, which has been fantastic over the last decade or two with four premierships the boys have witnessed.
I studied medicine at the University of Melbourne, graduating in 1988. I did an intern year and many resident years before studying for a further five years specialising and completing anaesthetic training in 1998. I now work at several hospitals in Melbourne, anaesthetising for many surgical specialties. It has been something I have really enjoyed and have seen some amazing advances in health care over a relatively short period of time.

I regularly play golf and get down to Phillip Island with the family fairly often too. It’s about ninety minutes from Melbourne and we love beach walks with the dog(s). It is great to get away from a busy work schedule and sit on a balcony enjoying views and a drink or two, and also dine at some of the restaurants down there.
My father had an unusual gait and some falls, so I referred him to a neurologist, but he was not sure what the diagnosis was. It wasn’t until my brother also developed an unusual gait that it became apparent that he and my father had HSP.