Huggles

PROFILE

In the 1938 depression years work was scarce, so my father, tired of not being able to make
a living, travelled from Goulburn to Nth NSW to find a legal practice which he could purchase,
then marry and have a family. This happened to be Port Macquarie so life for me began, in
the then small NSW coastal town known as "Port", in 1940. The population was somewhere
between 2 - 3 thousand people and it was best known as a holiday destination, particularly
for western farming communities who flocked there over Christmas and raised population
numbers to double. Port was a beautiful place to grow up.

Work opportunities beyond school were very limited, so like many others my age I headed
for the city where I completed my nursing training at Royal North Shore Hospital of Sydney
in 1962. My dream was to travel, so to save money, I worked 12 hours and 7 days a week
for much of the following year as a private nurse to agency clients. I then travelled to
England on the 'Fairsky'. This was 18 months of wonderful adventure and risk-taking on a
scale that scares me today, but what a wonderful time, only cut short by me becoming rather
ill with glandular fever and the gloomy prospect of facing another English winter, still ill, and
with few monetary resources, I headed home.

For 15 months I worked at Sydney Hospital as a theatre nurse which I loved. I went on
holidays to stay with relatives in Papua New Guinea where I met my husband to be Ken, who
worked for the Forestry Department. We married and lived our first 4 years in Port Moresby
where our children were born in PM General Hospital. I drove myself to hospital for my first
birth in our vanguard tank, she was 5 weeks early, Ken was still somewhere in the bush, my
waters had broken so with houseboy in tow and barely being able to see over the wheel and
wearing a mini skirt with a towel stuffed between my legs, I arrived at the desk to say "I
think I'm going to have a baby". The mental picture of this makes me cringe and laugh at the
same time!! She was born an hour later while the Dr was at lunch, he arrived in time to catch
her. I was then told the second birth is usually quicker!! Thankfully he wasn't.

Life continued in Canberra for 4 years where we bought a home, I worked as research
assistant at the John Curtin School of Medical Research and I had just completed a nursing
refresher course when Ken was asked to fill a position again in Port Moresby. It was just
after PNG independence and I was unable to get a work permit, so I was not keen. However
we went, and had 4 wonderful and eventful years there where Ken was attached to the Aust.
High Commission. We had a power boat to go to islands to snorkel, swim, camp overnight
and listen to music or taped readings from "The Hobbitt" late into the night under the stars.
We met many wonderful people from all over the world and I also discovered pottery and
ended up helping to teach, firing up the kilns and running yearly exhibitions and auctions of
the 'pots' we made. Many wonderful stories came from this period and as a family we also
did our first real o'seas travel to the Philippines and to Disneyland in LA. I'm so pleased that
it all happened.

We returned to Canberra in 1980, our children were growing up and I'd been employed in
the school system to work school hours. This was a bit depressing and I got a job working as
a nurse in the very new Health Risk Management Clinic (Cardiovascular) with 3 nurses
running a program for clients over a 4 month period. We basically assessed their risk factors
for cardio. health, and counselled them on how to work through changing their behaviours to
reduce their risks over 4 months period, then with a 3 and 6 month follow up. This was a
wonderfully innovative program working with the support of a cardiologist, psychologist,
dietician and their own GP, but politics got in the way eventually. Unfortunately you can't
measure prevention!! Such a pity as it had begun showing really good outcomes for many
who wanted to change to healthier behaviours.

1990 saw us in Brisbane and a big change. Our daughter had married, we had a grandchild
and we had experienced tragedy when our son died turning our lives upside down, but life
had to go on.
A very powerful message for us in this period was how tragedy and laughter go hand in hand
in a bizarre way, how laughter really can be the best medicine and can work its heartfelt
magic. Clowning was an absolute "fit" for me when I found it. I love the therapeutic aspects
of what can happen. My preference for connecting is though silly communication with a few
tricks, hugs and magic thrown in.

Our daughter, husband and 3 grandchildren have all moved to Qld and live locally so we
have been blessed to have had the experience of the grandkids growing up close by since
they were young. That was also good a good 'clown training' ground and they love the fact
that their granny is a clown.