The hope & healing behind the headlines - with Angela & Helen Darlington

The hope & healing behind the headlines

As seen on page 27 of my book “Humanitarian – The Real Michael Jackson,” on November 13, 1987, Michael Jackson visited The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, where he spent the day with children and their families, giving out gifts, signing autographs and chatting to the patients. In episode 7 of the podcast, I spoke with Angela Darlington, who was in the hospital recovering from a head injury when Michael visited her. As Angela was only 5 years old and recovering from a head injury at the time, her memory of the visit is murky, so Helen, Angela’s mother joins the chat to tell us about her memories of the king of Pop’s visit and its impact on her, Angela and the other patients and families in the hospital.

Transcript:                                                       

Paul:

Welcome, listeners. I'm joined today by two lovely ladies, fellow Aussies Angela Mueller and her mother, Helen Darlington. Angela was in the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, recovering from head injuries in 1987 when Michael Jackson visited her. Michael was in Melbourne on his Bad tour. And we'll get to the visit soon, but first I just wanted to welcome you ladies and say hello.

Helen:

Hello.

Angela:

Hi.

Paul:

Thank you for talking with me today. Angela, I'm not sure how much you remember about pre-1987, so Helen, maybe you could take us back to before the accident occurred and tell us a little bit about 1987 and what everyday life was like for you guys.

Helen:

Well, at the time I was working for the Tab, actually. They had green screens. Do you remember those?

Paul:

No.

Helen:

They had green screens for betting. Anyway, that's where I was employed and her father was a printer, but we had separated and then he in his care, Angela got hit by a car.

Angela:

So. Yeah, apparently, I did. I was with my dad. I was being looked after by him and he was at the theater. I can't remember which theater it was, but he was at the theater doing his rehearsal. And every day I went across the road from that theater and picked a flower for my mum and gave it to her whenever I got handed back to my mum because my parents had sort of joint custody, they were separated anyway and they didn't live together anymore. So, I was sort of going from dad to mom and back to his place and then back to her place. Every day I'd pick a flower for my mom and give it to her when I saw her. And then one day we were at the theater, I was at the theater with dad and I went to pick the flower. I ran outside without being supervised and I went to pick the flower. I crossed the road and suddenly this car comes. My mom said it was a blind man, but I'm like, well, how can a blind man be driving a car? But obviously he didn't see me. I was walking across the road, picked a flower, and then this guy hit me, traveling at about 20 km an hour. I bounced off the car and then ended up in the hospital after that. My mom was so upset and distraught and I'm sure that my dad was as well. My whole family, actually. And yeah, I was three weeks in.

Paul:

A coma, so three weeks. So, you've obviously gone to hospital and obviously three weeks have passed. I can't ask you what was going on in that three weeks because you would have no idea. Could you hear anything going on that you remember while you're in?

Angela:

My mom and my dad were arguing back and forth as I was in the hospital, apparently blaming each other, and especially my mom. She was so upset and she just blamed my dad, and the nurses had to pull them out, pull both my mom and my dad out of the room and say, this is not helping. Okay? You're not going to help your child get better if you're constantly arguing and screaming and yelling around her. So, she's not going to want to come back to this.

Paul:

So, leading up to the visit, so are you staying in the hospital with her?

Helen:

Yeah, I had a room within Ronald house.

Angela:

Ronald McDonald.

Helen:

Ronald McDonald's house stay, which was very nice.

Paul:

And so, for three weeks I don't think people understand putting your life on pause and staying in a hospital for three weeks is going to take its toll on you as well. How were you feeling?

Helen:

I was feeling terrible at the time. When Andrew was in it, it was an induced coma because they weren't sure of what it had done to her brain being hit by a car. There were lots of mothers. Sometimes we stayed in the hospital on Hammocks with the children around us. A very nice hospital. Melbourne.

Angela:

Royal children.

Helen:

Yeah. But all the stuff were just amazing. And of course, her father and I were at loggerhead. It wasn't very friendly between us.

Paul:

How did you hear that Michael Jackson was coming in? Did someone tell you in advance?

Helen:

No one told us anything. Just straight nothing. It was just when he arrived. That's how quiet they keep it because they don't want fans turning up at a very private and children getting better in a hospital.

Paul:

Yeah.

Helen:

Of course, nobody said anything. They didn't publicize these things at all because you'd have people racing to the Royal Children's Hospital to see Michael Jackson. So, all the nurses in that were told not to say anything. And on the day, he arrived, nobody knew anything. Not the children, nobody. So that was a good thing. They just covered him. He walked in. He looked absolutely gorgeous because that was his Bad album. Album. He was very handsome looking person, dressed in his Bad outfit, which was all studs and leather.

Paul:

Oh, wow.

Helen:

Yeah. And he walked in and he had six bodyguards around him, and all I could see were all these men standing around him with big smiles. And I said, Can I shake his hand? And they said yes. And all of a sudden, all these bodyguards moved away to be close to him and say, hello and thanks for coming in. I think a lot of the people love your album and they all appreciate you and it's good for the children. In fact, one lady told me her little boy got better after meeting Michael Jackson. He had a head injury. It was the head injury department of the hospital. And like I said, everyone, we only got one photograph, but they took lots of photos. They gave us a signed book of Michael Jackson. He went up, he put his arm around Angela. She was in a red chair. She was still under great care after getting a big bump on the noggin, and it was lovely. And he was just very kind to all the children. They were all just so excited. And as I said, some of them got better.

Paul:

Yeah, I've heard simple stories. Angela, do you remember how you felt when he came in? Do you remember much about that?

Angela:

I don't at all. I was just coming out of the coma and basically what I said in the last time you interviewed me was that all I can remember is going through the hallway in the red chair and not really knowing what was going on at all.

Helen:

Yeah, she was strapped into a chair because she couldn't walk or talk. She had to be retaught all those things.

Angela:

That was my first memory.

Paul:

Helen, did you see in your eyes how did Angela go with that visit? Did that make a change to her? Did it make her feel better?

Helen:

I think it was kind of inspiring because she sort of started getting back into life again, starting to walk and talk.

Paul:

Who took that photo?

Helen:

That was a nurse who secretly took it. We told not to take any photos.

Paul:

So, his team didn't take photos?

Helen:

His team took photos, but we, the staff and people with our sick children were told not to take any photos. Please. But one nurse sneaked that one.

Paul:

In good honor, luckily. And did you see him interact with any other families, any other people?

Helen:

Yes, he did. He interacted with all the children and their parents. And some children were just some had really bad injuries. I mean, head injuries where their heads were cut open and they had stitches. In Angela's case, it was just a matter with the brain being a very you have to be very careful with it. It was just a matter of getting her back intact again. She had a shake up from the accident. Shook her brain up terrible.

Paul:

Did you make friends with anybody else in the hospital?

Helen:

I made friends with women at the hospital and I had friends outside who would take me for a beer.

Paul:

Do you still keep in contact with them?

Helen:

Well, some have passed and some not really.

Paul:

Were you in the hospital for much longer after the visit?

Helen:

We were in the hospital for six weeks and then the nurses and doctors suggested that as her father and I were not getting on well, that I should take her to Adelaide, where they have excellent resources called Regency Park for straightening out children who've been in accidents or have problems.

Angela:

Was that? In Adelaide.

Helen:

That's in Adelaide. Yeah. It's renowned, Regency Park. It's renowned for children who've had injuries where they can relax and come out of the ordeal.

Angela:

Rehabilitation.

Helen:

Rehabilitation, yes.

Paul:

Now, I did read, Helen, you told the similar story of the visit to some sort of publication. Was that just after Michael Jackson died.

Helen:

Yes, it was. We have a book with his signature on it, but I can't seem to find it in the house somewhere.

Angela:

Remember we sent our story to was it New Idea?

Helen:

Yeah, we sent our story to New Idea and they gave us $50.

Paul:

Oh, really?

Helen:

For the story.

Paul:

And they printed it?

Helen:

They printed it, yes. And that was very nice.

Angela:

And they did an interview with both of us, mainly Helen. Yeah.

Helen:

It was amazing the way I still had the picture in my mind. He's standing in the middle of these six men and I said, Can I shake his hand? And they all stepped aside. It was amazing.

Paul:

And did you say anything to him and he speak to you?

Helen:

I just said, how are you? And he said, how are you? And I said, Things are better now that you're here, or some little snippet of conversation, but it wasn't much.

Paul:

I remember I met Michael as well, in 96. And I remember when I shook his hand, the feeling I got was, oh, wow, this guys actually really big. And a strong handshake. And what were your feelings about that?

Helen:

Very strong handshake. And he looked he was so handsome. I just can't tell you how in his bad outfit.

Angela:

What was he wearing? What did it look like?

Helen:

It was leather and chains and things like that.

Paul:

Six weeks in the hospital, then you've gone back to Adelaide and you started to recover. And you started to recover. Well.

Helen:

Yeah, Angela started to get very much better because you're living out in the sticks.

Angela:

The outer southern area, near the beach, near the beaches.

Paul:

Nice. Well, it was good to hear that your recovery went well. And I know you've gone on, Angela, to travel and you've got a family of your own now, which is really nice. What are you up to these days?

Angela:

So, I have not let the injury stop me. I've had to be aware of my limitations in terms of learning. Yeah. Accept some of those limitations, as I was told by some psychiatrists and psychologists over the years, and to accept that. But I went on to do a certificate for in business admin so I could be an administrator, receptionist or work on computers and all that kind of stuff. Then I went on to do a diploma of Library and Information Services. And then from there, that wasn't enough for me. So, I went on to do a Bachelor of Arts. And I actually won a scholarship to go overseas and do an internship in San Francisco in 2012 with Wiley.

Helen:

Are the publishing companies?

Angela:

Yeah, Wiley one of the world's biggest publishing companies.

Paul:

Wow.

Angela:

And then I also published a book of my own called Slim Train. The book called Slim Frank 1922 to 2012. It's about my grandfather and his growing up.

Paul:

Is that Helen's father?

Helen:

Yes.

Angela:

So, it's out there now. It took me a couple of years to finish that.

Helen:

People say it's only 100-page book, but people say it's insightful.

Angela:

It talks about the Great Depression. Yeah, the Great Depression when Frank was growing up. It also talks about how he joined the army, the Australian army, and then went overseas to the Middle East and being in action there and his brother passing away and returning to Australia. And he also fought in Papua New Guinea as well. Yeah, he had some psychological issues, physical issues from that he had to kill.

Helen:

A man and he didn't really like doing that.

Angela:

So, it talks a little bit about Australian history and family history in the context of that era.

Paul:

The so these stories came from your grandfather himself. You sat down and spoke to yes.

Angela:

And also, my own research, but a lot of them, he sat down with me when I was a child and he'd always tell me these stories of his youth and back during World War II.

Paul:

And that's what gave you the idea to jot it all down and put it into a document?

Angela:

Yeah, that's right.

Paul:

Awesome. And so that's been published. You've published that now?

Angela:

Yes, it's self-published and it's available online through booktopia. It's called Slim Frank 1922 to 2012. Yes. So that was a big achievement for me as well.

Paul:

Yeah, 100%. That's amazing.

Angela:

I thought I'd use my university degree for something.

Paul:

Have you got a passion for writing now?

Angela:

I've always had a passion for writing. It's being an only child, I had to find something to do with my time, so writing was a good outlet. And I've always been fascinated by other people's stories.

Helen:

When she was a little girl, she went on a show called Couch Potato. She said, I'm a playwright. She was about eight years old. Said, I'm a playwright, and I've written about five plays.

Paul:

Oh, wow.

Helen:

The most careless restaurant in the world, wasn't it?

Angela:

Yeah. I used to put these plays on these little one-page plays in school and get my friends to be the actors as well as myself.

Paul:

They love, oh, that's so cool. Have you still got your little memos of your scripts?

Helen:

Yes, she has.

Paul:

Oh, wow. That's amazing.

Angela:

So, as you can see, even despite having a head injury, it hasn't stopped me. It hasn't held me back.

Helen:

Well, we do think Michael Jackson might have had a little to do with her survival, because a lot of people said that at the time, because the world was crazy about Michael then, and young men who or young boys, the yes. In the hospital, their mums were saying, he's getting better. That must be because Michael came in.

Paul:

Yeah. And look, I've got to tell you, look, I was researching for my book for years and years, and I've probably interviewed probably over a couple of hundred people, and a lot of people that were kids back in the that were in hospitals and similar to yourself, there's a lot of cancer sufferers and things like that. And I can tell you very much that there seems to be an ongoing theme of people feeling like, yeah, they did get better after the visit and they felt warmth in his visit and their spirit sword and just all these beautiful, beautiful stories about getting better.

Helen:

Well, he was an amazing person, wasn't he, really?

Paul:

Yeah. And there's a lot to be said about having hope and what a smile can do for a sick kid who's been in hospital for three weeks, for three months, for three years, some of these kids. That's why I want to get these stories out there, because we all know there's a lot of garbage that's written in the media about Michael Jackson.

Angela:

I never believed any of those stories.

Helen:

I didn't either. I didn't believe any of those rubbish stories.

Paul:

And most people either know him or have done their research, know that it's complete bogus media hype crap, but we won't talk about that. So, to finish up the chat, Angela, have you got any other aspirations of writing or any other projects you want to do next?

Angela:

Well, I have written a lot of poetry over the years and I was thinking I could do that. But this next step with this publication is to actually send the Slim Frank is to send it through to a local publisher for distribution into bookstores. That's the next big step. And I'm doing a launch in Adelaide in December. I'm hoping that I'm in touch with the McGill RSL in Adelaide. Yeah, I've been in touch with them recently to get some sort of event happening for Slim Frank Lining 22 to 2012, the book. Yeah. And hopefully from there it can go on a bit further. I'm not sure if there's anything, any last words that I want to say apart from my family. They really supported me through all of that and my auntie sort of came into the hospital when I was there and she said, Angela, come back to us. So, without that family support, it would have been much more difficult. And they all came over from Adelaide, so to support my mum and me.

Paul:

As well, I did want to just reiterate, actually, to the listeners that you guys weren't paid for this interview. I just asked if you would like to chat and you graciously said yes, you are happy to. So, I really appreciate it. It's in the name of truth, it's not in the name of making money or anything like that. So, I just wanted to reiterate that as well before we leave.

Helen:

That's wonderful. And you know what? We love Michael Jackson and we love Melbourne.

Angela:

Well, I'd like to say thank you very much for interviewing us, Paul. It's been lovely and we look forward to hearing the podcast.

Paul:

Thanks heaps. I'll talk to you soon, Angela. I'll keep you updated on your links and very nice to meet you, Helen, and thank you very much.

Angela:

No problem. Thanks.

Paul:

Take care, guys. Bye.