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Perth, |
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Medicos, gymnast top the Aussie list
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George Jelinek, the man who wrote the text book on emergency medicine, and David Joske, pioneer of combining conventional and contemporary therapies, are finalists in the WA Australian of the Year awards, which shortlists candidates for the national awards.
Embracing alternative therapies brought derision and praise for Dr Joske, head of haematology at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. In 2003 he was nominated for the Australian Skeptic's Bent Spoon Award for the most outrageous claim of a pseudoscientific nature. But two years later it won him a John Curtin Medal for exhibiting qualities of vision, leadership and community service similar to the former Prime Minister. And the cancer support centre he started at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital is now the respected SolarisCare Foundation. In making its award in 2005, Curtin University praised Dr Joske's ability to look outside convention, like the wartime Prime Minister.
He began by questioning why modern medicine detaches the mind from the body, and often ignores the person in whom the disease is living. "My patients were all trying other things to try to improve their healing and they were often being humiliated," he said. "I reached a point where I was going to buy into it or forever have a barrier between me and my patients. "We are dealing with very ancient forms of healing to ameliorate the symptoms - we are not out to claim cures but to handle the symptoms like fatigue and nausea." His ideas lead to the cancer support centre at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital where patients are offered 28 different treatments such as massage, acupuncture and aromatherapy. "The story is a very amazing personal journey," he said. "I have gone from being a doctor who felt I had to show an open mind to being a doctor who has an open mind." He said in concentrating on finding a cure western medicine had lost the sense of community and caring in the treatment of patients. He said he wanted to re-humanise healing and research with patients at the support centre. He started the Chemo Club with the help of Stephen Smith at Claremont Football Club where cancer patients are able to use the gym facilities. "There are about 50 people a week going," he said. Dr Joske lives in Nedlands with his wife Kim Gibson, head of physiotherapy at Princess Margaret Hospital. Their daughters Sophie (15) and Toby (12) go to Presbyterian Ladies College. When he is not working Dr Joske plays in a blues band Big Boss Beaver named after its founder, an orthopedic surgeon. "The other members are an architect, a corporate sort of guy and a computer geek," he said. He writes songs and in 2000 won a WA music industry WAMI for Guilty as Charged. Professor George Jelinek (53) was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis eight years ago. Despite the fact his mother had had the disease, he said he did not notice symptoms until shortly before he was diagnosed. "I had a numbness in my leg and saw someone fairly quickly," he said. "I had no inkling it was MS but that might have been denial." Prof Jelinek talked about his illness and how he deals with it on the ABC's Catalyst program in 2004. "It's an enormously transformative experience for most doctors becoming a patient," he said. "You see things very differently from that day on, particularly with a serious illness. "Many people leave their doctor's offices, even today, thinking there is virtually nothing they can do, they can just wait until they get sick. "I didn't find that an acceptable thing to do." Prof Jelinek took up sunbathing to boost his vitamin D levels, stuck to a low fat diet and meditated. And he wrote a self-help book, Taking Control of Multiple Sclerosis, to inspire a positive attitude in fellow sufferers. Good health is not absence of illness, he says. Maintenance is the key. "Good nutrition, exercise and stress relaxation are very much mainstream therapies that most people should be adopting," he said. He swims daily and recently shifted a gear to part-time working to make time to maintain his health for his commitments to his family. He is working on the third edition of his book. He is also the author of Australia's main text book on emergency medicine. Prof Jelinek said his mother's illness had a big effect on his life and probably influenced his decision to be a doctor. She was diagnosed with MS when he was 12 and she died 15 years later after being bedridden for the last four. Prof Jelinek was the first person in Australia appointed a professorship in emergency medicine. "Emergency departments have a role in looking after people when they are most vulnerable", he said. Overcrowding was the biggest problem in emergency departments. "What we need to do is do something about how we manage in-patient beds and we need more of them." Prof Jelinek lives in Wembley and is married to Dr Sandra Neat. Their family of five are aged 11 to 21. Professor McCartney (66) of Mosman Park, works at King Edward Memorial Hospital and invented a device known as McCartney's Tube for performing gynaecological surgery without a cut in the abdomen. The device that results in less pain, blood loss and tissue damage and shorter stays in hospital, is being used around the world. His nomination citation said: "Above all else Tony has genuine concern and compassion for ordinary human beings and in his field has given much to the community." When he is not working he is an avid reader of history books. He plays tennis, golf and enjoys boating. Professor McCartney lives in Mosman Park with his wife Jacinta. They have two sons, a financier in New York and an apprentice chef in WA and two daughters, one in marketing and one studying in Italy.
The former Methodist Ladies' College student started in gymnastics at the age of five and was picked up by scouts from the WA Institute of Sport at six. She made her competition debut at nine and went on to compete in two Olympic and two Commonwealth Games. She was WA Young Australian of the Year for Sport in 2000 and served on the athlete's commission of the Australian Olympic Committee.
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