Sophie Delezio, the brave little girl who suffered burns to 85 per cent of her body when a car slammed into a daycare centre, has grown into a confident young woman about to leave home and travel overseas. She shares her quest for freedom with Michael Sheather.
Sophie Delezio remembers the precise moment she fell in love with London. “Mum and I were walking through the centre of the city,” recalls Sophie, a pretty, spirited young woman about to turn 18. “I was 15 at the time and Mum and I went to London. It was the two of us, so it was a girls’ trip.
“We’d been to visit Kensington Gardens and were walking back. It came over all cloudy and drizzly, and then a freezing wind sprang up. I could feel the chilly air on my hands and face, and I remember thinking to myself, ‘I love this’. I love that feeling of having to rug up against the cold in winter woolies. It was like a winter wonderland – all the Christmas decorations, all the food, all the people. Everything about it held on to me and I instantly fell in love with it. Right then, decided that one day I would make London my home.”
Sophie, the little girl who won Australia’s heart with her bravery and endurance after a horrific car accident at a Sydney daycare centre in 2003, is about to turn that dream into a reality.
After completing high school last year, Sophie has applied for entrance to study sociology and international relations at no less than five top-ranking English universities, four of them in London. Her choices mean that she must now forge a new life for herself in a new city and country – half a world away from the comfortable and supportive upbringing that she experienced at her family’s home on Sydney’s North Shore.
“Yes, a part of me is a little nervous about moving away,” says Sophie, the daughter of Ron Delezio, a former electrician, and his wife Carolyn Martin, a teacher. “Yet there is another part of me that is very excited. In fact, I can’t wait to go. I know there are going to be tears when I get on the plane, but I know that will only be for a few moments.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 2019-Ausgabe von The Australian Women's Weekly.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 2019-Ausgabe von The Australian Women's Weekly.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Maggie's kitchen
Maggie Beer's delicious veg patties - perfect for lunch, dinner or a snack - plus a simple nostalgic pudding with fresh passionfruit.
Reclaim your brain
Attention span short? Thoughts foggy? Memory full of gaps? Brigid Moss investigates the latest ways to sharpen your thinking.
The girls from Oz
Melbourne music teacher Judith Curphey challenged the patriarchy when she started Australia's first all-girls choir. Forty years later that bold vision has 6500 members, life-changing programs and a new branch of the sisterhood in Singapore.
One kid can change the world
In 2018, 10-year-old Jack Berne started A Fiver for a Farmer to raise funds for drought relief. He and mum Prue share what happened next.
AFTER THE WAVE
Twenty years ago, the Boxing Day tsunami tore across the Indian Ocean, shredding towns, villages and holiday resorts, and killing hundreds of thousands of people from Indonesia to Africa. Three Australians share their memories of terror, loss and survival with The Weekly.
PATRICIA KARVELAS How childhood tragedy shaped me
Patricia Karvelas hustled hard to chase her dreams, but it wasn't easy. In a deeply personal interview, the ABC host talks about family loss, finding love, battles fought and motherhood.
Ripe for the picking
Buy a kilo or two of fresh Australian apricots because they're at their peak sweetness now and take inspiration from our lush recipe ideas that showcase this divine stone fruit.
Your stars for 2025
The Weekly’s astrologer, Lilith Rocha, reveals what’s in store for your astrological sign in 2025. For your monthly horoscope, turn to page 192.
MEL SCHILLING Cancer made me look at myself differently'
One year on from going public with her bowel cancer diagnosis, Mel Schilling reveals where she's at with her health journey and how it's changed her irrevocably.
Nothing like this Dame Judi
A few weeks before her 90th birthday, the acting legend jumped on a phone call with The Weekly to talk about her extraordinary life – and what’s still to come.
