One of the scariest moments Tim Thomas shares happens far from a battlefield: sitting in a psychologist’s office, flooded with rage, he realises how close pain and isolation can push a person to the edge. That story sets the tone for a raw, practical conversation about veteran mental health, PTSD recovery, and what actually helps when talk alone isn’t getting through.

We talk with Tim, an ex-Special Forces commando and now a veteran ambassador with Gallipoli Medical Research (GMR), about the contrast between who he was in the Army and who he’s becoming now. He takes us through the routines that stabilise his nervous system, why connection is the antidote to the loneliness pain creates, and the Afghanistan moment where a simple act of service (making great coffee) cuts through ego and changes the whole team dynamic. We also unpack the hard truth of transition to civilian life: losing your tribe, protecting your self-worth, and the ways alcohol can quietly become “medicine” when sleep and stress spiral.

Tim gets specific on the science too, linking chronic stress, cortisol, hormones, low testosterone, fatigue, and why exhaustion can block healing even when you finally find the right support. He’s candid about the years it can take to find a clinician who truly helps, and why many programs fail veterans when they don’t earn trust or break isolation. We also explore why GMR felt different to him: research with heart, listening without judgement, and building tools that work in the deepest and darkest places. The conversation lands on sovereignty, boundaries, and breathwork for sleep as a skill that brings power back under your own skin.

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If you would like to support Gallipoli Medical Research's work, please visit https://www.gallipoliresearch.com.au/donate/ and make a contribution today!

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Cultural Warning: This episode contains the name of an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person who has passed away.

A rare infection. A Brisbane family tragedy. A young researcher who refuses to stop asking “why”. We’re joined by Kirby Patterson-Fahy, a 23-year-old medical student and emerging scientist at Gallipoli Medical Research, whose path into medicine begins with her sister Anastasia "Taisie" becoming seriously unwell and spending months in hospital. Kirby shares what it’s like to watch clinicians face unanswered questions, and how that uncertainty pushed her to start reading research papers long before she ever stepped into a lab.

We follow the thread that led Kirby to Professor Rachel Thompson’s work on non-tuberculous mycobacteria, including evidence that Mycobacterium abscessus can be grown from tap water in Brisbane. That discovery doesn’t just change how a family thinks about exposure and blame, it opens up the deeper scientific problem: if so many people are exposed, why do only some become dangerously ill? Kirby explains the role of underlying vulnerability, why NTM infections can be hard to diagnose and treat, and what makes mycobacteria so resistant to common antibiotics.

Kirby also talks candidly about building a life that can hold both clinical training and medical research: early-morning swims, tight scheduling, learning the “why” behind guidelines, and seeing how evidence-based medicine is actually made. Along the way, we hear about growing up with two mums, foster sisters, and a strong sense that family is defined by care, not biology. If you care about Australian medical research, antibiotic resistance, mycobacteria, and the future of clinician-scientists, this conversation will stay with you.

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If you would like to support Gallipoli Medical Research's work, please visit https://www.gallipoliresearch.com.au/donate/ and make a contribution today!

Or visit us at:

Website: https://www.gallipoliresearch.com.au/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GallipoliResearch/

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LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/gallipoli-medical-research

E: enquiries@gallipoliresearch.org.au

A Victoria Cross can change your life in a second, but it can also follow you for the rest of it. We sit down with Mark Donaldson VC, a highly decorated Australian Defence Force soldier, to talk about what sits behind the public story: the pressure of representing a 150-plus-year legacy, the mates who were there too, and the messy reality that bravery is often a series of small decisions made while scared.

Mark takes us back to the parts that don’t make the headlines: a rebellious regional upbringing, the death of his Vietnam veteran father when he was 15, and the disappearance of his mother a few years later. We talk about how grief can either hollow you out or sharpen your sense of purpose, and how his search for meaning eventually leads him to the Army, Special Forces, and a mindset built for chaos.

From combat decision-making to life at the kitchen table, the conversation keeps coming back to veteran health and the transition home. Mark shares a practical tool for high-pressure moments, honest reflections on being emotionally present with family, and why supporting military families is essential to better outcomes in mental health and suicide prevention. We also explore why he backs medical research and clinical trials through Gallipoli Medical Research, and what veterans bring to workplaces beyond the resume.

If this story shifts the way you think about service, leadership, and supporting the people around a veteran, subscribe, share the episode with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more listeners can find Voices.

If you would like to support Gallipoli Medical Research's work, please visit https://www.gallipoliresearch.com.au/donate/ and make a contribution today!

Or visit us at:

Website: https://www.gallipoliresearch.com.au/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GallipoliResearch/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gallipolimedicalresearch/

LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/gallipoli-medical-research

E: enquiries@gallipoliresearch.org.au