Reading For Wellbeing

If you're in Australia, please read to the end to get the feel-good story 😊
I volunteered to be in the academic procession at one of today's UniSA graduation ceremonies. It was wonderful to see Emeritus Professor John Boland. If not for John sharing his expertise so generously, I might still be working on the statistical analysis of my PhD data!
Something happened part-way through the ceremony. For background context: during the COVID-19 pandemic, we had "the lovely Professor Nicola" (as I referred to her) informing us, reassuring us, and making decisions to keep us safe as our Chief Public Health Officer. Today, Professor Nicola Spurrier was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of the University. About two thirds of the way through the ceremony, one of the new graduates became distressed and security started approaching, but when he collapsed, Professor Nicola (despite her high heels) literally hopped down from the stage in an instant. She stayed down on the floor caring for the person needing help, and reassuring people nearby, until the paramedics arrived. She is truly a superstar.

University of South Australia SA Health

It was wonderful to reconnect with the Myeloma community in Adelaide at their annual seminar last week. Knowing the room would be full of people affected by cancer and their families, I made sure I included some discussion about cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI). The nods and comments around the room were not unexpected. CRCI is real, and it's impacting so many people affected by cancer. It feels like it's a bit of a dirty secret; people who have it seem embarrassed by their forgetfulness, their word-finding difficulties, their trouble keeping up with conversations, their difficulties reading, etc. I'd love to see CRCI routinely discussed by all health professionals so it's taken out of the realm of an embarrassment that can limit people's social and working lives, put a strain within families that doesn't need to be there, or cause concern as people wonder if they have early-onset dementia.

A big thank you to the Myeloma community for supporting me when I was recruiting participants for my study. I'm honoured to have been invited to speak at the seminar on Thursday in Adelaide, and really looking forward to seeing some familiar faces there.

It is Indigenous Literacy Day today. There really is strength in stories! See if you can grab a book by a First Nations author today, or check out The Indigenous Literacy Foundation website for resources and to read about their wonderful programs (like providing book kits for littlies) - I've popped their website url in the comments. Remember "Reading opens doors".