PNG THROWBACK / Interview Spotlight / Sue Huntley
21:13
MEET SUE HUNTLEY, Co-founder of Hepatitis B Free!
Sue Huntley has been a passionate and active member of
Hepatitis B Free since its very beginnings, and was part of the original team
of five who first travelled to Papua New Guinea in 2013. Capable, professional
and resilient, she organises a plethora of logistical issues in addition to
providing medical aid using her nursing experience. Amongst her favourite
things in life are travel, dancing, telling jokes, and her beautiful children
and extended family.
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| From left to right: Liz, Jodee and Sue getting cheesy in Popondetta |
How did
you get involved with Hepatitis B Free/What made you decide to come on the trip?
Alice and I were talking and I was telling her about the
charity “Habit for Humanities Vietnam”, and that it was too physical for me.
She asked if I thought that vaccinating in a little village in PNG might be
doable, I said yep, and then she told me the story of Kerry and what she wanted
to do. I was hooked.
Tell me
about your medical background. What experience or skills did you find to be
most useful during your time in the clinics?
I was a registered nurse for twenty four years. Nine of
those were on night duty…I worked ‘agency’ to fit in with the nights I could
work and look after the children. This was a great foundation as I would meet
new challenges every day, rarely working in the same environment. After night
duty, I worked at Concord Hospital for 14 years, where I worked at research
programs and climbed the nursing ladder, which allowed me to finish my nursing
career as a clinical nurse consultant (CNC), in gastroenterology and upper GI
surgery.
Fourteen years ago, I decided I needed a career change and
went into clinical research within the pharmaceutical industry. After a number
of years, I decided to start my own independent consulting and contracting in
clinical research services within this industry. My initial career change never
took me far away from medicine or nursing and allowed me to continually update
my medical and nursing knowledge.
Although for the most part it was hands off, I have still
taken an active role in regularly conducting education sessions to health care
professionals, including doctors and nurses, on clinical research protocol,
procedures and then assessing their performance. In more recent years I have
extended my services to include project management of Australasian studies,
which is now what I am currently involved with. The adaptability of being able
to not confine anything that I do, learn quickly and then adapt to any
environment allows me to pick up any challenge and step into almost any role
that would be required for a trip into remote environments.
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| Sue preparing blood collection tubes in Popondetta Hospital |
What did
you find most challenging about the trip?
The physical side (being a couch potato). Getting from point
A to point B in a set time frame can be challenging when you are unfit,
overweight and not inclined to do training.
What
surprised you?
What surprised me the most was my empathy for the women of
the remote villages. Here were a group of women who have a hard life every day,
and they acceptance it without question and with gratuitousness. They showed
such fortitude to their environment and I did not hear one complaint from the
local women on either trip.
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| Sue vaccinating in Waru, Popondetta |
What made
you laugh?
How foolish I felt when I encountered the “First world
problem” of how to deal with dirty clothes, shoes…with the lack of washing
facilities, no bathroom and flies that were attracted to me for my own aroma.
Cry?
When I left, I felt as though I had only just started, that
there is so much to do and so much that I might be able to do. I missed the
people before I even left.
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| From left to right: Alice, Liz C and Sue in Popondetta |
What was
your most memorable experience on the trip?
From the first trip: the generosity of the locals in
preparing all our meal and going without themselves (unbeknown to us at the
time), accepting the differences of our culture and sanitation requirements and
wanting to assist in any way they could. For example, carrying supplies,
translation, shelter construction.
From the second trip: my most vivid memory is the stark
difference that health care makes to those that are able to access it. At the remote
village region we had been in for 4 days, there were locals bringing their
families to the clinics with basic medical issues such as worms, skin
condition, sanitation (cleanliness and clean cloths) and many unknown ailments
including ulcers and unclean open wounds. In comparison, at the clinics in the
town Popondetta we visited, the general health of the population appeared to be
better looked after. The children had clean faces and by comparison there were
minimal skin conditions and ulcers.
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| From left to right: Sue, Elayne, Harry, Mel and Liz drawing up vaccines in Popondetta |
Weirdest
thing you ate/did?
Still mulling this one over (still unable to face yams)… the
time we spent in the remote highlands during both trips was surreal. The
weirdest thing was more of a thought process. When the penny dropped and I
realised that women were held in such low esteem, I just laughed and thought,
“Do they really believe that?”
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| Sue and Liz keeping dry in Tahama |
How has it
impacted the way you see the world?
I have seen the world differently for many years, although
my trips to all of the countries I have visited have never failed to reinforce
how very lucky I am to live in the ‘lucky country’ of Australia. This was not
planned or a choice I could have made, as I was born in Australia, but it does
give me the opportunity to have a great education, choose where and how I want
to live, eat well, and access health care or other government services very
easily. I feel humbled that I am able to assist/help others who are living
through their country’s development or struggle, and to realize its full
potential through the people and the health of those people.
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| Sue staying positive in Itokama :) |
4 comments
Fantastic interview! Sue sounds like an amazing contributor to HepBFree!! I'd love to see more 'interview spotlights' on other inspiring women like Sue :)
ReplyDeleteYou're awesome mum! Proud of you!! Xx
ReplyDeletegreat stuff all.
ReplyDeletefrom little things, big things grow.
Dear Sue Huntley,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I would like to express my appreciation towards your kind and great job. I am inspired so much by your project. This is silent issue over here. We need your help and advise. But of course I want to cooperate with you with all my potential too. I am feeling good to know you and your organization...
I am sending you my contact detail via your facebook page. Thank you for your good effort and for your attention.
Best Regards,
Neariah from Ethiopia