Burns survivor Sophie Delezio announces major new career move

Australian survivor Sophie Delezio has announced her next major career move, once again drawing on her life experiences to help others.

The mum-of-one will host a new podcast series aimed at helping parents connect with trusted information on children’s health.

Delezio, now 25, was just two years old when she was critically injured after a car crashed into her childcare centre.

She suffered burns to 85 per cent of her body, losing both of her feet, several fingers and her right ear.

Almost three years later, she was seriously injured again in another car accident.

Delezio has continued to use her experience to challenge perceptions of disability and to promote accessibility, compassion and independence.

Having recently become a mother herself, Delezio now plans to use her own experience of navigating the highs and lows of parenthood to support families tuning in.

“If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably found yourself Googling your child’s symptoms at 2am, tossing up between whether to take them to the emergency department or to manage at home,” Delezio said.

“As a mum, I know those moments all too well.”

Kids’ Health Explained, which launches on Wednesday, is a new podcast series by the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network.

The podcast will feature conversations with leading clinicians and experts from across NSW, helping to translate complex medical topics into simple information.

Episodes will explore issues including winter illnesses, childhood immunisations, eBikes and asthma.

In a video announcement shared on Instagram, Delezio also reflected on her deep connection to the hospitals that cared for her after the two devastating childhood accidents.

“I also know how hard it can be to navigate those scary moments, not just for the kids, but for the parents and siblings too,” Delezio said.

“When everything feels a bit uncertain and all too new.

“And now today, as a new mum, I’m experiencing it from a completely different perspective.”

Delezio and her partner, Joseph, welcomed their son Frankie in September 2024.

In December last year, Delezio spoke honestly about the realities of childbirth and bravely shared how her fear of operating rooms meant “her son was born in my most hated space in the world”.

Delezio opened up about the birth of her son as the keynote speaker for Perinatal Mental Health Week in parliament.

She explained how the prospect of giving birth via a caesarean section brought back memories from years of countless surgeries during her traumatic childhood.

“PTSD, to me, comes out in mysterious ways. It’s not like what you see on television. For me, it was facing an operating theatre,” she said.

Delezio’s life was forever altered when, just before Christmas in 2003, an out-of-control car careened into a childcare centre in Sydney’s Fairfield, trapping her under the rubble.

Almost three years later, tragedy struck again when a car hit her and her nanny as they crossed the road, sending Delezio 18m into the air.

She sustained a broken jaw, broken collarbone, nine broken ribs, punctured lungs, two fractured vertebrae and a brain injury.