A woman who faked a cancer diagnosis to swindle the Nhulunbuy community out of $10,000 has pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court to fraud, forgery and attempting to pervert the course of justice. The court heard Cheryl Elizabeth Pryor, 40, had been living in the town before travelling in January last year to Sydney, where she claimed she had been admitted to hospital after being stabbed in the leg. Pryor told her then friend, who has asked not to be named, she had been diagnosed with leukaemia and throat cancer during her hospital stay. The friend offered to set up a GoFundMe account which she then posted to the Nhulunbuy Notice Board Facebook page. Crown prosecutor Naomi Loudon said community members donated a total of $14,387.31 to the fundraiser before police started investigating in March due to suspicions raised by locals. Pryor subsequently told police she was receiving chemotherapy under the care of Westmead Private Hospital professor Jonathan Carter but investigations revealed the hospital had no records of her as a patient.
May 12, 2020
Registered nurse Anki Groening, of Bega, has chosen to leave her profession rather than receive an annual flu vaccination. Anki Groening, of Bega, has worked as a registered nurse for 10 years, first as a midwife and, for the past three years, in aged care at a Bega facility. She says that for her, the risks associated with getting the flu shot every year far outweigh the benefits. “I had a round of vaccinations to get up-to-date when I completed my nursing degree and had an immediate reaction,” she explains. “I was in bed for six weeks and had unexplained arthritis for two years afterwards. “When I went to the doctor, she said she’d never seen such high levels of autoimmune indicators.” Despite her reaction, Anki tried immunisation one more time while preparing to take a midwifery job in the Solomon Islands. Again, she was seriously ill. “I gave my boss [at the Bega aged care facility] my medical records and said that getting the shot every year to continue working there would jeopardise my health. “I let them decide, but it’s out of their hands, they have to follow government rules.”
May 12, 2020
A 92-year-old resident of Newmarch House aged care home in Western Sydney has died after contracting coronavirus, her family says. Great-grandmother Fay Rendoth died yesterday. She is the 17th resident of the aged care facility to die. There have been 69 COVID-19 cases linked to the home, including 32 staff and 37 residents. The nursing home has become Australia’s second biggest COVID-19 cluster after a nurse who worked at the facility unintentionally started an outbreak by working six shifts with mild symptoms. Ms Rendoth’s granddaughter, Savannah Robinson, said she was somewhat comforted that her grandmother would no longer be missing her husband of more than 70 years, who died five years ago. She leaves behind three daughters, eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
May 12, 2020
Another elderly resident of the Newmarch House nursing home in Sydney has died after contracting but then being cleared of COVID-19. Operator Anglicare on Monday revealed the person had died overnight. “While the resident had previously tested positive for COVID-19, they had returned two negative tests before passing,” a spokesman said in a statement. So far 37 residents and 32 staff at Newmarch House have contracted the virus.
May 12, 2020
A doctor who survived cancer and chemotherapy says death cap mushroom poisoning was the most painful ordeal she has ever had. Dr Anna Whitehead saw some mushrooms near an oak tree in Raglan on the Easter long weekend. The Waikato public health doctor hadn’t planned to forage but decided to pick the mushrooms and check online if the ones she’d found near the waterfront on Cliff St were toxic. But she was so busy, partly due to commitments during the coronavirus pandemic, she forgot to check. She fried two mushroom caps and a stem, ate them with fish at lunch and felt fine – for a while. She woke up at 3am the next day. “I had this vomit which was unusual. It was a green liquid.” She went back to sleep but woke up again, and had “a huge amount” of green diarrhoea and vomit. “By eight in the morning I thought: I’m actually really unwell.”
May 11, 2020
Monash Health has a brace of s.739 (Application to deal with a dispute) set for hearing by Commissioner Harper-Greenwell in chambers in Melbourne (Edmead/Stubbington).
May 11, 2020
The Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union and Queensland Council of Social Services Inc have a s,739 (Application to deal with a dispute) before Commissioner Booth in the Fair Work Commissioner Central Plaza Two Level 14 66 Eagle Street Brisbane at 2.30pm.
May 11, 2020
An outpouring of grief and community support has followed the death of Cairns mental health advocate Carl Cook. “Always a giver”, the talented artisan operated Carl’s Creations, a bespoke jewellery business and recently started a support group called Doppler Care, offering mental health support and coaching during the coronavirus pandemic.
