“In maternity, you work through the good, bad and ugly. You become more than colleagues, you’re family now.
“Losing one of your own again and again… it’s one of the hardest things we’ve been through as a team.”
After losing a number of staff members in an 18-month period, the Women’s and Children’s Units needed a moral boost.
On Monday they came together to remember those they’ve lost to cancer in a meaningful and loving way, through a Biggest Morning Tea fundraiser.
“Each goodbye has left a lasting impact, and in their memory, we wanted to come together as a community to honour their lives and continue the fight against cancer,” co-organiser and midwife Laura Kuhle said.
Staff came through to share their happy memories of colleagues they remembered or their peers currently fighting cancer.
Co-organiser and Clinical Midwife Educator Belinda Rosaia, who has been hosting morning tea fundraisers for a number of years, said when funerals became a place to catch up with former work friends, she knew they needed to replace them with this fundraiser.
“We couldn’t keep meeting like that,” Belinda said.
“When I started [these fundraisers], the statistic was one in three people is diagnosed with cancer.
“But now it’s one in two.
“And when you experience the loss yourself, it’s even more reason to do our part.”
The team has now raised more than $1600 for prevention initiatives like the HPV vaccine and the new cervical screening program, which have put Australia on track to become the first country to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem.
You can support the team by donating online here.