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Stranger wanted after assaulting child in mother's arms

<p>Police are searching for a woman who callously attacked a toddler who was being carried by her mother through a busy shopping centre in Western Australia.</p> <p>The shocking act unfolded in East Victoria Park shopping centre, in south-eastern Perth, with CCTV capturing the distressing moment. </p> <p>In the security footage, a mother can be seen holding her two-year-old daughter near the entrance of the shopping centre, who are then approached by the woman who lunges at the child before fleeing. </p> <p>Staff working in the surrounding shops say it all happened incredibly quickly, one only hearing a scream from the mother, as nearby shoppers rushed to help.</p> <p>The little girl has been left with facial injuries, as well as the mother and daughter being left shaken and scared by the incident.</p> <p>Police said the child sustained "facial injuries", adding, "A female approached a mother who was holding her child, before assaulting the child and leaving the area.”</p> <p>“The female is not known to the mother and child.”</p> <p>The woman behind the attack has not been found, as police have called on the public for information. </p> <p>The attacker is described as having a medium build and a shaved head, and was wearing a pink singlet and grey shorts.</p> <p>Police are asking anyone who recognises the woman or who witnessed anything in the area at the time to come forward, and anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.</p> <p><em><strong>Editor's note:</strong></em> On Wednesday morning, Western Australian police said they want to speak to 21-year-old Pamila-Raye Jetta over the attack, and appealed for public help in finding her.</p> <p>"Jetta is described as female, olive skin, 170cm tall, heavy build, shaved head and was last seen wearing green coloured shorts with white stripes, pink coloured singlet and blue trainers," police said.</p> <p>"Jetta has also recently been observed wearing a fluorescent pink wig."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Nine News</em></p>

Caring

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Grieving dad fights for "ZaZa's Law" after toddler dies in his arms

<p>A grieving father has called for change after his toddler tragically died from choking on a grape. </p> <p>Brian Bwoga, a 44-year-old dad from Perth was at the beach with his two sons, Alessandro, four, and Zaire (ZaZa) 22 months, at the beginning of the year on what seemed like a normal family day out. </p> <p>But what was meant to be an idyllic summer’s day soon turned into any parent’s worst nightmare.</p> <p>“The weather was amazing, the boys were playing and it was just the perfect summer’s day,” Brian, who parents his boys with their mother Claudia, 39, told <a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/perth-toddler-dies-five-minutes-after-being-eating-popular-snack/news-story/0bfb598fe70bb5b47259cdc3b80c60cd" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>news.com.au</em></a>.</p> <p>“I was gathering up our things ready to go home. My older son Alex came up to me and asked if he could play for just five more minutes. I was carrying ZaZa, and I told them both to go and play together with their friends while I finish packing the car."</p> <p>“The next minute ZaZa is just running to me, holding his neck and gasping for air."</p> <p>“I jumped into action and did CPR, I put my fingers inside his throat and got one grape out. I was so relieved, I thought thank god I got it out. But I didn’t know there were four more grapes inside his throat.”</p> <p>The toddler continued to choke on the grapes, and Brian says his eyes started “popping out”.</p> <p>The terrified dad began performing abdominal thrusts to try and dislodge the grapes but to no avail.</p> <p>“I told one of the mothers to call the ambulance. I was terrified,” he recalled.</p> <p>“My older son was scared and asked me why there was blood coming from ZaZa’s mouth. I told him to go with another parent because I didn’t want him to see this. I was holding ZaZa and he was looking at me. I gave him CPR again and I tried so hard to save him."</p> <p>“He gave me this look and died in my arms.”</p> <p>“I left home with a beach bag and left with a body bag. It happened so quick. Within a few minutes he was gone. My son Alex is traumatised. He misses his brother so much and I don’t know how to fix it.”</p> <p>Grapes are a notorious choking hazard for children under the age of 5, as it is often recommended to always cut up grapes when feeding them to young kids.</p> <p>Sadly, Zaza consumed the grapes whole, and although the mistake cost his son his life, he doesn't place the blame on anyone.</p> <p>Instead, he wants to educate the public about the importance of cutting up grapes and is now fighting for <a href="https://www.change.org/p/zaza-s-law?source_location=petitions_browse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">change</a> as he hopes to introduce ‘ZaZa’s Law’ to parliament. </p> <p>This new law would ensure there are choking hazard labels on all grape packets and other food items that could be dangerous for small children.</p> <p>“I would hate for this to happen to anyone else. But I hear so many stories about kids dying from choking,” he said.</p> <p>“Ideally, I would like a warning label on all grapes and small foods to warn people to cut them up. Even a big sign at the supermarket for parents."</p> <p>“Not everyone knows this, but every parent needs to be aware of the dangers of food. I want ZaZa’s Law to come into parliament to get labels on everything."</p> <p>“We buy toys and they come with warning labels for things like batteries or other choking hazards. Why can’t we do the same for food?”</p> <p>The dad also hopes that a new anti-choking device, called LifeVac, might be more widely introduced in Australia and placed in public spaces.</p> <p>“Everywhere you go, shopping centres or beaches, there is a defibrillator on the wall,” he explained.</p> <p>“That is great, but we also need those anti-choking devices. It sucks everything up like a plunger and has saved so many lives."</p> <p>“If we had that at the beach that day, ZaZa might still be here.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Courtesy of Brian Bwoga</em></p>

Caring

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Police fatally shoot armed 16-year-old after Bunnings carpark stabbing

<p>A 16-year-old boy has been shot dead by police after he stabbed a man in the carpark of a Bunnings Warehouse on Saturday night. </p> <p>WA Police were called to the hardware store in south Perth, which was closed at the time of the incident, after they received a call from the teen saying he was going to commit acts of violence. </p> <p>A second emergency call was then made a short time later after the teenager stabbed a man in the carpark, in what appears to be a random attack. </p> <p>Police Commissioner Col Blanch said when they arrived on the scene, they found a 16-year-old armed with a large kitchen knife.</p> <p>Commissioner Blanch said the boy lunged at officers with the knife and was shot, and died a short time later in hospital.</p> <p>The man who was stabbed, who is in his 30s, is recovering in hospital and is believed to be in a serious but stable condition.</p> <p>The police commissioner and WA Premier Roger Cook held a press conference on Sunday morning and described the incident as "extremely confronting".</p> <p>They said the boy was "running around a car park, armed with a knife" when police arrived. </p> <p>"They [WA police] exited their vehicle and were confronted with a male alone with a large kitchen knife," Commissioner Blanch said.</p> <p>"Two officers drew their tasers and one of the officers drew his firearm. They challenged the male to put down the knife, which he did not."</p> <p>Mr Cook said there were indications the boy had been radicalised online, saying at the press conference, "I want to reassure the community at this stage it appears that he acted solely and alone."</p> <p>"Members of the WA Muslim community, who were concerned by his behaviour, contacted police prior to the incident and I thank them for their help."</p> <p>It was also said the boy's family was cooperating with police.</p> <p>Commissioner Blanch said the incident was not being labelled as a terrorist attack at this stage.</p> <p>"It certainly has the hallmarks of one [but] the reason why I would declare it as a terrorist act going forward — it's about timing," Commissioner Blanch said.</p> <p>"That's something that we can work towards as we find out more information from the motivations behind this."</p> <p><em>Image credits: ABC / Shutterstock</em></p>

Legal

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How to receive criticism with grace and open arms

<p><em><strong>Tom Cronin is a meditation teacher, life coach and writer. He is the founder of The Stillness Project, a global movement that aims to help people on their journey towards calmness and fulfilment.</strong></em></p> <p>Put your hand up if you like to receive criticism.</p> <p>Of course you kept your hand down. No one likes to be criticised. To the point where we often hold ourselves back from doing many great things in fear of being criticised.</p> <p>I saw a quote this week by Aristotle:</p> <p>“There is only one way to avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.”</p> <p>Criticism can cut to the core of our ego. It challenges all the false beliefs that we’ve had about ourselves. We tend to measure ourselves by the perspectives of others and when that perspective becomes negative, then OUCH! It hurts.</p> <p>I’ll let you in on a secret, which is not so secret now. I’m a recovering perfectionist, recovering in that I’ve been in ‘perfectionist rehab’ trying to wean myself off being a perfectionist. One thing about perfectionists is that we love to be perfect…. and what does criticism from others say about our perfectness? That it doesn’t exist! Our illusion becomes shattered and it’s brutally painful.</p> <p>It was for this reason that I held back from writing, speaking, and teaching. I mean what if someone faulted what I did? Heaven forbid! But the compulsion became stronger and it was a tussle between what was the natural flow forward and my ego holding me back in fear. The block was in my ego, so that’s what I had to work on… dissolving that pesky little thing (only it wasn’t little, it was gargantuan!)</p> <p>Through my meditation practice I was able to slowly dissolve the big E and allow my clear fearless expression to shine through. (Mind you it’s not totally dissolved, there is still some there)</p> <p>Sure, I get criticised. It’s going to happen. But now I see criticism as something very constructive. It’s up to you; it can be destructive or constructive. I find it useful market research that helps me refine what I do and become better at it. In fact, only the other day I asked my children to critique me as a parent. I sat them both down and said to them (true story):</p> <p>“Hey kids, so I have never been trained as parent and this is my first time at it. So I may be doing things wrong or things that you don’t like. I’m still learning. I want you to let me know how you’d like me to change as a parent and what you think I could do better?”</p> <p>To which they replied along the lines of:</p> <p>“Nah, we think you’re doing a great job Dad, you don’t need to change anything.”</p> <p>It was a nice to hear but I was seriously looking for some constructive criticism to help me become better at parenting. I used to really struggle receiving criticism, it was a painful experience. But not I welcome it with gratitude. It teaches me to evolve and adapt.</p> <p>But coming back to Mr. Aristotle, and his quote. What would you prefer? Not being criticised and playing the small safe, game or growing, expanding and inspiring others while you expose yourself to potential criticism?  You think Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Jesus, Martin Luther King or Nelson Mandela were never criticised? The choice is yours and you have greatness within you to share with the world. So what are you waiting for?</p> <p>Share with us how you would like to share your gifts with the world in the comments below.</p> <p><em>Written by Tom Cronin. First appeared on <strong><a href="http://stillnessproject.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Stillness Project</span></a>.</strong> </em></p>

Mind

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Antibiotic resistance: an arms race going on millions of years

<p>In 2012, a team of microbial scientists, curious about the origins of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, decided to take samples from the walls of a deep, ancient underground cave system beneath the modern US state of New Mexico. </p> <p>The maze-like complex of <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0034953" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-type="URL" data-id="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0034953">Lechuguilla cave</a> stretches for more than 200 kilometres, and much of it is sealed from aboveground by an impermeable rock layer known as the Yates Formation. So, it was the perfect place to hunt for microbes unsullied by the modern world. </p> <p>What they found was both startling and spooky: the microbiome of the cave samples contained bacteria that were resistant to at least 14 different antibiotics currently on the market, even though they had been isolated for more than four million years.</p> <p>Given that antibiotics were first used clinically after Alexander Fleming cultured <em>Penicillium</em> moulds in 1928, antibiotic resistance is generally thought of as a distinctly modern problem – and there’s no doubt our use and abuse of these wonder-molecules have created a huge and growing issue. </p> <p>A <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0140-6736%2821%2902724-0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recent study</a> reported in <em>The Lancet </em>suggests more than 1.2 million people died in 2019 as a direct result of antimicrobial resistance. By some estimates, the death toll could reach 10 million per year by 2050 if nothing is done (by contrast, about  eight million people die from cancer each year). The <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antibiotic-resistance" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">World Health Organization</a> identifies resistance as one of the biggest threats to global health. </p> <p>Tony Velkov, an Associate Professor in biochemistry and pharmacology at the University of Melbourne, says not enough attention is being paid to finding answers from nature; more specifically, the organisms that make their own, naturally occurring antibiotics in a dynamic environment.</p> <p>“Lessons from nature, I call them,” Velkov says.</p> <p>The majority of antibiotic medicines used clinically today are derived from natural antibiotics produced by microbes in soil and which attack rival microbes, as part of a miniature war over precious resources.</p> <p>Indeed, Fleming’s discovery of the <em>Penicillium </em>mould’s antibacterial qualities was entirely by accident, says Velkov.</p> <p>“He was growing a bacterium called <em>Staphylococcus aureus, </em>and he decided to go on a long weekend and left the plate on the bench,” he says. “He came back about a week later and he found this mould growing in one corner of the plate, and he found the bacteria that he’d been growing were scared of this mould, and they were all dying or keeping away from it.”</p> <p>Fleming’s famously understated remark upon discovering this strange antibacterial interloper was: “That’s funny”. </p> <p>Velkov is particularly fascinated by the function of antibiotics in nature, as part of epic microbial conflicts taking place at every moment. A big part of his work is looking at a pugnacious little soil microbe called <em>Paenibacillus polymyxa, </em>which is able to kill gram-negative bacteria that enter its territory by producing polymyxins, a particularly aggressive type of antibiotic.</p> <p>“Polymyxin is used in hospitals when you’re really, really sick, because it’s pretty toxic,” he says. For that reason, it’s often a medicine of last resort, which means it hasn’t had as many opportunities as other more common antibiotics, to trigger the evolution of antibiotic resistance traits in pathogens.</p> <div class="newsletter-box"> <div id="wpcf7-f6-p187842-o1" class="wpcf7" dir="ltr" lang="en-US" role="form"> <form class="wpcf7-form mailchimp-ext-0.5.61 init" action="/health/medicine/antibiotic-resistance-millions-years/#wpcf7-f6-p187842-o1" method="post" novalidate="novalidate" data-status="init"> <p style="display: none !important;"><span class="wpcf7-form-control-wrap referer-page"><input class="wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-text referer-page" name="referer-page" type="hidden" value="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/" data-value="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/" aria-invalid="false" /></span></p> <p><!-- Chimpmail extension by Renzo Johnson --></form> </div> </div> <p>Nonetheless, polymyxin-resistance genes <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31122100/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">have been identified</a> in bacteria across Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America and Oceania. If the power of polymyxins is usurped by these resistant pathogens, it could spell disaster for people suffering from drug-resistant bacterial infections.</p> <p>So, Velkov is trying to learn how to create new polymyxins, by mimicking soil-based battles.</p> <p>“I get the bacterium that makes that [polymyxin], and then I challenge it,” Velkov says. “I grow it opposite the bugs it hates, and they fight each other.”</p> <p>If it sounds a bit like a pathogenic boxing match, Velkov says that’s much like what he observes.</p> <p>“They actually have a bit of a battle,” he says. “You’ll see the one that makes the antibiotic starts growing towards the bacteria to push it out of the territory [the petri dish with nutrients on it], and then it secretes the polymyxins to kill it.</p> <p>“But the bug, the human pathogen, often fights back secreting stuff to kill the antibiotic-producing microbes.”</p> <p>How does all this lab-based micro-fighting translate to the real-world problem of resistance?</p> <p>According to Velkov, in medicine, humans mostly focus on producing one type of antibiotic at a time. But in the “wild”, he says, microbes can often produce a whole bunch of subtly different substances in the fight.</p> <p>“In the petri dish, when these guys are fighting each other, they make really different ones,” he says. “Ones we haven’t seen or discovered, they respond in ways we haven’t looked at.”</p> <p>In his research lab, Velkov says he’s discovered a number of new polymyxins, including one that’s in clinical development.</p> <p>So, by staging these kinds of epic battles in miniature in the laboratory, can we stave off antibiotic resistance altogether? According to Velkov, probably not. But we can optimise our participation in the evolutionary arms race.</p> <p>“You’re never going to make it go away,” he says. “This has been going on for millions of years.”</p> <p>But the hope is that by learning from how these microbes behave in nature, we can at least try to keep pace. </p> <p><!-- Start of tracking content syndication. Please do not remove this section as it allows us to keep track of republished articles --></p> <p><img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=187842&amp;title=Antibiotic+resistance%3A+an+arms+race+going+on+millions+of+years" width="1" height="1" data-spai-target="src" data-spai-orig="" data-spai-exclude="nocdn" /></p> <p><!-- End of tracking content syndication --></p> <div id="contributors"> <p><em><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/medicine/antibiotic-resistance-millions-years/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/amalyah-hart" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amalyah Hart</a>. Amalyah Hart is a science journalist based in Melbourne. She has a BA (Hons) in Archaeology and Anthropology from the University of Oxford and an MA in Journalism from the University of Melbourne.</em></p> <p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p> </div>

Body

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Prince Harry will not be allowed to wear his military uniform at armed forces gala

<p dir="ltr">Prince Harry will not wear his military uniform when he appears at the Salute to Freedom gala on Wednesday, despite serving in the military for 10 years.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Duke of Sussex, whose service included two tours in Afghanistan in 2008 and 2012, is set to appear at the gala in New York to award five war heroes with medals. However, he will not be allowed to wear his military uniform, because he has been stripped of his honorary titles.</p> <p dir="ltr">Harry lost his titles after he and wife Meghan Markle resigned as senior royals in March 2020. It is understood that Harry wanted to retain his honorary positions, including the title of Captain General of the Royal Marines, but was not able to do so. It is thought that Princess Anne will be the next royal to hold that title, making her the first woman to do so.</p> <p dir="ltr">The 37-year-old second son of Princess Diana was appointed to the position of Captain General of the Royal Marines in 2017. Prior to his appointment, the position had been held by his grandfather, Prince Phiilip, for 64 years.</p> <p dir="ltr">As a result of losing his titles, Harry will wear plain clothes when he presents awards at the gala, which is to be held aboard a warship in New York on Wednesday November 10. Despite this, he will be allowed to pin his four medals to his suit for the occasion.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Salute to Freedom gala is being held to honour "those who have served in the US forces, defending America." Award recipients are those who have "demonstrated courage and perseverance in the face of great danger or personal struggle."</p> <p dir="ltr">The event will be held at the Intrepid Sea, Air &amp; Space Museum, and other attendees include Jon Bon Jovi, who will be receiving the 2021 Intrepid Lifetime Achievement Award for his work with the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation. The Foundation works to break the cycle of poverty and homelessness through affordable shelter and housing, including providing permanent supportive housing for veterans.</p> <p dir="ltr">Bon Jovi and Harry have crossed paths before, when Bon Jovi recorded ‘Unbroken’ as a single for Harry’s Invictus Games Foundation last year.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Geoff Pugh - WPA Pool/Getty Images</em></p>

News

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Woman shot as armed pro-Trump protestors storm US Capitol

<p><span>A woman was shot on Thursday morning after hundreds of MAGA supporters stormed the Capitol building in Washington DC.</span><br /><br /><span>The Donald Trump supporters made one final bid to overthrow democracy as the president carries out his final days in office.</span><br /><br /><span>A number of protestors not only swarmed the streets but managed to breach into the US capitol building, breaking through barriers and withstanding tear gas as well as an armed standoff.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">A person on a stretcher just wheeled out with what appears to be a serious injury. <a href="https://t.co/wucrpusBzE">pic.twitter.com/wucrpusBzE</a></p> — Michael Del Moro (@MikeDelMoro) <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeDelMoro/status/1346910181075021828?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><br /><span>Reports said that one woman was in “critical condition” after being shot in the chest, and that resuscitation efforts were underway.</span><br /><br /><span>It has been suggested that an officer was the one who fired the shot, however the circumstances surrounding the situation are yet to be determined.</span><br /><br /><span>WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGERY</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">BREAKING: Trump supporters have breached the Capitol building, tearing down 4 layers of security fencing and are attempting to occupy the building — fighting federal police who are overrun <br /><br />This is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. Thousands, police can’t stop them <a href="https://t.co/VVdTUwV5YN">pic.twitter.com/VVdTUwV5YN</a></p> — ELIJAH SCHAFFER (@ElijahSchaffer) <a href="https://twitter.com/ElijahSchaffer/status/1346881968819105792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><span></span><br /><br /><span>House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy confirmed the shooting in an interview with Fox News, saying, "I'm with Capital police, I heard on the radio: 'Shots fired.'"</span><br /><br /><span>"I have been in this Capitol for more than 10 years and I've never seen anything like this," McCarthy added.</span><br /><br /><span>Media commentators were audibly shaken up as they likened the “attempted coup” to that of a “third world country” or “civil war”.</span><br /><br /><span>“This is just Bedlam … this is Trump’s rebellion,” one said, adding the situation was “very, very tense” and “out of control”.</span><br /><br /><span>Trump, who lost the popular and electoral college vote in the 2020 presidential elections, has continued to dispute the results without evidence.</span><br /><br /><span>As of Thursday morning, the only message the US president has made is a tweet urging Americans to “Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!”</span></p>

News

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"We will wrap our arms around them": Family of six in tragic crash identified

<p>A small community in southeast Queensland are "heartbroken" and calling for a complete road overhaul after a family of six's car plunged into a dam and claimed the lives of 13-year-old Leo Larsen and his four-year-old sister Mia.</p> <p>The two children were travelling alongside their two younger siblings and parents Dylan Wadley and Mel Martin when the car broke through a road barrier on Beaudesert Boonah Road, rolled down an embankment and flipped on its roof into Wyralong Dam.</p> <p>The couple managed to escape the submerged car with their five-week-old daughter Hope and one-year-old son Ace but tragically were unable to open the car to save Leo and Mia.</p> <p>The couple are stable after undergoing leg and pelvic surgery on Monday while their one-year-old boy remains in a critical condition. The five-week-old baby is stable.</p> <p>Local residents took to social media to express their condolences to the family.</p> <p>“There needs to be an overhaul of that road. Been many fatalities over the years … RIP little ones,” Sue Clarke wrote on Facebook.</p> <p>“It is extremely sad to hear. However whoever designed the road and markings in particular needs to have their head examined … you can legally pass when you can’t see but can’t pass when you can,” Tracey Maguire wrote.</p> <p>“Our little town of Pratten is heartbroken,” Jenni Kehlet wrote.</p> <p>“Fly high beautiful Leo and Mia. You were absolutely gorgeous children. My heart breaks for your mum and dad. So shattering. Praying for your little brother and sister,” Liz Turner wrote.</p> <p>“This is too sad. Just like that, their lives will never be the same. Sending all my love to their mum and dad,” Bonnie Girven wrote.</p> <p>The tragedy has shaken the local community in Pratten.</p> <p>Southern Downs Regional Council Mayor Vic Pennisi told Seven News: “We will wrap our arms around them. They are part of the community an at time like this, we all step up.”</p> <p>Inspector Douglas McDonald told reporters that the vehicle had skidded onto the other side of the road and crashed into a second guard rail before rolling down the embankment.</p> <p>“It came to rest on its roof in a semi-submerged position,” he said on Monday.</p> <p>“Unfortunately, those two children (who died) were trapped in the vehicle longer than the other occupants,” he said.</p> <p>“There was some difficulty getting some of the doors open to the vehicle.”</p> <p>Inspector McDonald said passers-by performed CPR on the children once they had been removed from the vehicle, but they passed away at the scene.</p> <p>“It’s really traumatic for our first responders and also for the members of the public who stopped,” he said.</p> <p><em>Photo credits:<span> </span></em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/news/two-children-killed-after-car-crashed-into-dam-were-trapped-in-vehicle/news-story/8886e8ca477d9bd548665667b1f4e4d4" target="_blank"><em>news.com.au</em></a></p>

News

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Guide to the classics: A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf’s feminist call to arms

<p>I sit at my kitchen table to write this essay, as hundreds of thousands of women have done before me. It is not my own room, but such things are still a luxury for most women today. The table will do. I am fortunate I can make a living “by my wits,” as Virginia Woolf puts it in her famous feminist treatise, A Room of One’s Own (1929).</p> <p>That living enabled me to buy not only the room, but the house in which I sit at this table. It also enables me to pay for safe, reliable childcare so I can have time to write.<br />It is as true today, therefore, as it was almost a century ago when Woolf wrote it, that “a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction” — indeed, write anything at all.</p> <p>Still, Woolf’s argument, as powerful and influential as it was then — and continues to be — is limited by certain assumptions when considered from a contemporary feminist perspective.</p> <p>Woolf’s book-length essay began as a series of lectures delivered to female students at the University of Cambridge in 1928. Its central feminist premise — that women writer’s voices have been silenced through history and they need to fight for economic equality to be fully heard — has become so culturally pervasive as to enter the popular lexicon.</p> <p>Julia Gillard’s A Podcast of One’s Own, takes its lead from the essay, as does Anonymous Was a Woman, a prominent arts funding body based in New York.</p> <p>Even the Bechdel-Wallace test, measuring the success of a narrative according to whether it features at least two named women conversing about something other than a man, can be seen to descend from the “Chloe liked Olivia” section of Woolf’s book. In this section, the hypothetical characters of Chloe and Olivia share a laboratory, care for their children, and have conversations about their work, rather than about a man.</p> <p>Woolf’s identification of women as a poorly paid underclass still holds relevance today, given the gender pay gap. As does her emphasis on the hierarchy of value placed on men’s writing compared to women’s (which has led to the establishment of awards such as the Stella Prize).</p> <p><strong>Invisible women</strong><br />In her book, Woolf surveys the history of literature, identifying a range of important and forgotten women writers, including novelists Jane Austen, George Eliot and the Brontes, and playwright Aphra Behn.</p> <p>In doing so, she establishes a new model of literary heritage that acknowledges not only those women who succeeded, but those who were made invisible: either prevented from working due to their sex, or simply cast aside by the value systems of patriarchal culture.</p> <p>To illustrate her point, she creates Judith, an imaginary sister of the playwright Shakespeare.<br />What if such a woman had shared her brother’s talents and was as adventurous, “as agog to see the world” as he was? Would she have had the freedom, support and confidence to write plays? Tragically, she argues, such a woman would likely have been silenced — ultimately choosing suicide over an unfulfilled life of domestic servitude and abuse.<br />In her short, passionate book, Woolf examines women’s letter writing, showing how it can illustrate women’s aptitude for writing, yet also the way in which women were cramped and suppressed by social expectations.</p> <p>She also makes clear that the lack of an identifiable matrilineal literary heritage works to impede women’s ability to write.</p> <p>Indeed, the establishment of those major women writers in the 18th and 19th centuries (George Eliot, the Brontes et al), when “the middle-class woman began to write” is, Woolf argues, a moment in history “of greater importance than the Crusades or the War of the Roses”.</p> <p>Male critics such as T.S. Eliot and Harold Bloom have identified a (male) writer’s relation to his precursors as necessary for his own literary production. But how, Woolf asks, is a woman to write if she has no model to look back on or respond to? If we are women, she wrote, “we think back through our mothers”.</p> <p>Her argument inspired later feminist revisionist work of literary critics like Elaine Showalter, Sandra K. Gilbert and Susan Gubar who sought to restore the reputation of forgotten women writers and turn critical attention to women’s writing as a field worthy of dedicated study.</p> <p>All too often in history, Woolf asserts, “Woman” is simply the object of the literary text — either the adored, voiceless beauty to whom the sonnet is dedicated or reflecting back the glow of man himself.</p> <p><em>Women have served all these centuries as looking-glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting the figure of man at twice its natural size.</em></p> <p>A Room of One’s Own returns that authority to both the woman writer and the imagined female reader whom she addresses.</p> <p><strong>Stream of consciousness</strong></p> <p>A Room of One’s Own also demonstrates several aspects of Woolf’s modernism. The early sections demonstrate her virtuoso stream of consciousness technique. She ruminates on women’s position in, and relation to, fiction while wandering through the university campus, driving through country lanes, and dawdling over a leisurely, solo lunch.</p> <p>Critically, she employs telling patriarchal interruptions to that flow of thought.<br />A beadle waves his arms in exasperation as she walks on a private patch of grass. A less-than-satisfactory dinner is served to the women’s college. A “deprecating, silvery, kindly gentleman” turns her away from the library. These interruptions show the frequent disruption to the work of a woman without a room.</p> <p>This is the lesson also imparted in Woolf’s 1927 novel To the Lighthouse where artist Lily Briscoe must shed the overbearing influence of Mr and Mrs Ramsay, a couple who symbolise Victorian culture, if she is to “have her vision”. The flights and flow of modernist technique are not possible without the time and space to write and think for herself.<br />A Room of One’s Own has been crucial to the feminist movement and women’s literary studies. But it is not without problems. Woolf admits her good fortune in inheriting £500 a year from an aunt.<br />Indeed her purse now “breed(s) ten-shilling notes automatically”.</p> <p>Part of the purpose of the essay is to encourage women to make their living through writing.</p> <p>But Woolf seems to lack an awareness of her own privilege and how much harder it is for most women to fund their own artistic freedom. It is easy for her to advise against “doing work that one did not wish to do, and to do it like a slave, flattering and fawning”.</p> <p>In her book, Woolf also criticises the “awkward break” in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre (1847), in which Bronte’s own voice interrupts the narrator’s in a passionate protest against the treatment of women.</p> <p>Here, Woolf shows little tolerance for emotion, which has historically often been dismissed as hysteria when it comes to women discussing politics.</p> <p>A Room of One’s Own ends with an injunction to work for the coming of Shakespeare’s sister, that woman forgotten by history. “So to work, even in poverty and obscurity, is worthwhile”.</p> <p>Such a woman author must have her vision, even if her work will be “stored in attics” rather than publicly exhibited.<br />The room and the money are the ideal, we come to see, but even without them the woman writer must write, must think, in anticipation of a future for her daughter-artists to come.</p> <p><em>An adaptation of </em><a href="https://belvoir.com.au/productions/a-room-of-ones-own/#CjnymqycvMw"><em>A Room of One’s Own</em></a><em> is currently at Sydney’s Belvoir Theatre. This article appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-a-room-of-ones-own-virginia-woolfs-feminist-call-to-arms-145398">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Books

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​Brothers in arms: Prince William and Harry repairing severed relationship

<p><span>After reported tension between Prince William and Prince Harry, claims have been made that the brothers are “back in touch” and sorting through their issues with each other.</span><br /><br /><span>“There have been clearly some quite major rifts in that relationship, but things have got better and I know that William and Harry are in touch on the phone,” royal expert Katie Nicholl explained to ET.</span><br /><br /><span>“They have done video calls together, they have done a lot of family birthdays and I think with Prince Charles not being well, that really forced the brothers to pick up the phone and get back in touch.”</span><br /><br /><span>Nicholl says Harry felt homesick after touching down in L.A, but has found the “right time” to patch things up with his big brother.</span><br /><br /><span>“I think there is a sense of relief on both sides that this high drama is now a thing of the past,” she said.</span><br /><br /><span>“The Sussexes are free to get on with their new lives [and] the Cambridges can get back to their old lives without all the upset and drama that was clearly a big deal behind the scenes.</span><br /><br /><span>“I think Kate and William miss Harry and Meghan to a degree, but certainly they miss Harry [being] around and part of their lives.”</span><br /><br /><span>Nicholl went on to say it’s not a far-fetched idea to believe the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge took part in a birthday video call to Archie.</span><br /><br /><span>“I am quite sure there would have been communication between the Cambridges and the Prince of Wales and I am told Harry picks up the phone regularly to his grandmother, the queen,” Nicholl said.</span><br /><br /><span>“They had that same call on her birthday. I'm sure there was a Zoom birthday call for Archie, too.”</span><br /><br /><span>Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced they were stepping down as senior royals in January, and wrapped up their last required duties by April.</span><br /><br /><span>While giving a speech at a private dinner in London for his charity Sentebale, the Duke of Sussex said he had “no other option” than to step down.</span><br /><br /><span>“The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly … there really was no other option,” he said.</span><br /><br /><span>“I have accepted this, knowing that it doesn’t change who I am or how committed I am.</span><br /><br /><span>He went on to add: “But I hope that helps you understand what it had to come to, that I would step my family back from all I have ever known, to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life.”</span></p>

Relationships

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Armed police interrupt funeral while enforcing social distancing rules

<p>A Melbourne woman said she was “inconsolable” after uniformed police officers carrying guns interrupted her father’s funeral over the Easter long weekend to enforce social distancing rules.</p> <p>Helen Kolovos said she was left feeling “heartbroken” after two police officers arrived at the church during her father’s funeral on Saturday and began counting the number of people in attendance as the coffin was carried down the aisle.</p> <p>Funerals have been limited to a maximum of 10 people under the rules announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison in late March.</p> <p>“Being from a Greek family it was already mission impossible to do that, but we did, we literally had to pick and choose our own family and say you can come, you can’t come,” Kolovos told the <em><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/apr/14/totally-disrespectful-police-interrupt-funeral-while-enforcing-social-distancing-rules-over-easter-weekend">Guardian</a></em>.</p> <p>She said the two officers entered the church at the end of the service as her father’s coffin was being carried out.</p> <p>“It was just totally disrespectful, to carry a gun in a Greek church, it’s totally against our religion,” Kolovos said.</p> <p>“But the way they came in, they didn’t bow their heads or anything. They just started speaking to some of the people who were working in the church and taking notes as we’re carrying out my dad.</p> <p>“Just pause what you’re doing for one moment, bow your head, just give that man a little shred of respect. I was inconsolable. That whole moment of farewelling my dad, that moment was taken away from me.”</p> <p>Kolovos’ daughter Benita said the two officers were watching “every move” of the 10 attendees, who were separated into individual pews.</p> <p>“I understand social distancing is imperative to keeping everyone safe but surely there has to be a better way of enforcing it? Couldn’t officers just watch from their cars?” she wrote on Twitter.</p> <p>“Couldn’t they have worn plain clothes? Or taken their vests and guns off? Or simply paid some respect to the dead?”</p> <p>The complaint emerged as more Victorians reported “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-13/victoria-records-new-coronavirus-cases-as-numbers-stabilise/12144060">concerning police interactions</a>” in the state. More than 400 people were fined over the Easter weekend, with examples of breaches including eight people having a party in St Kilda.</p> <p>In one of the complaints submitted to the new <a href="https://covidpolicing.org.au/">COVID-19 Policing in Australia website,</a> a mother in Eltham said she was followed by a police car while she was driving to her son’s grave.</p> <p>“I felt intimidated by the obvious stalking by police. This behaviour could only be described as harassment,” she said.</p>

Legal

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Fit at 53! How to get Sonia Kruger's toned arms

<p>Sonia Kruger is known for hosting two popular television shows – <em>Today Extra</em> and <em>The Voice</em>. But while they’re both notable roles, the one thing that has really amplified Kruger’s popularity is surprisingly, her toned arms.</p> <p>The 53-year-old has women around the country on edge as they want to know her secret to strong, toned arms and thankfully, the answer has been revealed. </p> <p>Speaking to <a rel="noopener" href="https://coach.nine.com.au/2018/11/28/10/27/sonia-kruger-workout" target="_blank"><em>Nine Coach</em></a>, her workouts focus on compound movements such as pull-downs, pull-ups and push-ups.</p> <p>Working out at least once a week at The Well, a gym in Bondi, her personal trainer Dan Adair is given credit for her enviable figure.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BqeHkF9DaTy/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BqeHkF9DaTy/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" target="_blank">Body type: Works out but definitely loves gelato 🤗🍦@thewell_bondi @danadair #resistancetraining #gymlife #fitness #health #strength</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/soniakruger/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" target="_blank"> soniakruger</a> (@soniakruger) on Nov 21, 2018 at 9:18pm PST</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Though, it is worth noting that Kruger grew up as a competitive dancer so she’s always been fit, but it’s only recently where the media personality joined the gym and made her workouts a part of her regular routine.</p> <p>“As you get older you really need to do resistance training – not just women, but men too,” revealed Sonia. “I may have started late in life but I feel like I’ll be doing it forever.”</p> <p>However, weightlifting comes with concerns from women, who worry about looking too bulky. But Sonia's workout plan makes sure that doesn’t happen.</p> <p>“I told Dan I really don’t want to end up with shoulders like Arnold Schwarzenegger, and he gave me a really good tip,” she said. </p> <p>“If you keep your hands narrow your shape will end up being narrow. If you do wide exercises you’ll end up with a wide shape.”</p> <p>Here is one of the workouts Sonia does to keep herself healthy and strong:</p> <p><strong>Circuit 1</strong></p> <p>Do 4 sets of each exercise, 12 reps per set</p> <ol> <li>Front rack hold with reverse lunge — lower body</li> <li>Close grip lat pull-down — back and biceps</li> <li>Triceps push-down — triceps</li> </ol> <p><strong>Circuit 2</strong></p> <p>Do 4 sets of each exercise, 12 reps per set</p> <ol> <li>Kettlebell deadlifts — lower body</li> <li>TRX row — back</li> <li>Band Pallof press — core</li> </ol> <p><strong>Ski erg</strong></p> <p>30-second sprints followed by 90 seconds of rest. Do 5 intervals in total.</p> <p>Will you be trying out Sonia’s workout routine?</p>

Body

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Why parents are up in arms about this school photo

<p>Parents are up in arms about a school photo taken at Elsternwick Primary School in Victoria, which has prompted a big social media discussion about child safety at school.</p> <p>The photo, taken by father Glenn Riseley, depicts his son playing on the school’s tractor, which had been fenced off after teachers deemed it a safety concern.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fglenn.riseley%2Fposts%2F1763246263791863&amp;width=500" width="500" height="553" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></p> <p>He wrote: “Just asked my son why there's a fence around this old playground tractor? </p> <p>“Apparently some bureaucrats with cardigans and clipboards and diplomas in clipboard management did a 'safety audit' and deemed it too risky... so it has to be removed. </p> <p>Riseley added: “It seems the biggest risks to children these days are lack of physical activity, excessive screen time, poor nutrition and an alarming epidemic of type 2 diabetes, online bullying and mental health issues. None of which are connected to cemented in old red tractors.”</p> <p>Commenters on the post backed Riseley up.</p> <p>One wrote, “World gone made” while another said: “Growing up on a farm and riding in dad's rusty Bedford truck was the highlight of my childhood.”</p> <p>What are your thoughts?</p>

Family & Pets

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The moment hero customer stopped Aldi armed robbery

<p>A hero shopper has saved the day for an Aldi store after ramming an armed attacked with a trolley.</p> <p>Last January, Manuel Melgarejo was shopping at an Aldi store in Albion Park Rail, NSW, when Mervyn Davidson entered the store high on drugs and holding a baseball bat.</p> <p>Davidson’s ordeal began when he demanded cash from a checkout assistant and then struck her with the bat with such force that she fell to the ground unconscious.</p> <p>Melgarejo felt he had to do something and ran from the aisle where he was with his wife and daughter, to the robber.</p> <p>“He just went to launch at me with the baseball bat and as he did that, I grabbed the trolley and pushed it into him,” Melgarejo told <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="https://www.9now.com.au/a-current-affair/2018/extras/latest/180130/aldi-shopping-hero" target="_blank" title="www.9now.com.au">A Current Affair</a></strong></em></span>.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="499" height="375" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7267589/2_499x375.jpg" alt="2 (55)"/></p> <p>“There was kids there, there were people crying and screaming, it was crazy, it was like out of a movie or something.”</p> <p>Another shop assistant came to assist Melgarejo in restraining Davidson and removing the bat from him.</p> <p>“I pushed the trolley again, hit him, and went down, and grabbed him around the waist, put him down on the ground and put him in a lock hold,” Melgarejo said.</p> <p>“He was crazed, just yelling and screaming and just going berserk,” he said.</p> <p>The brave customer feared for his life and believed that if the shop assistant who had been hit, was struck one more time, she could have been killed.</p> <p>“He could have killed us all. I don’t know,” he said.</p> <p>On Monday, shocking footage of the attack was played to Wollongong court during Davidson’s sentencing hearing.</p> <p>As well as highlighting Melgarejo’s bravery, the footage revealed a young boy in the store who witnessed the violence as his father tried to comfort him.</p> <p>Davidson was charged over the attack and pleaded guilty. He will receive his sentence next week.</p> <p>The Aldi checkout assistant was hospitalised for five days. </p>

News

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Lisa Wilkinson reveals holiday horror: “My arm nearly had to be amputated”

<p>TV host Lisa Wilkinson has revealed that her arm nearly had to be amputated after an injury she suffered earlier this year in Italy.</p> <p>The 57-year-old journalist shared the frightening news during an event yesterday for Business Chicks at the Westin Hotel in Sydney.</p> <p>Wilkinson was being interview by her Channel 10 colleague Natarsha Balling and revealed that Italian doctors had mistreated her broken wrist after she slipped on the bathroom floor, reported the <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/sydney-confidential/lisa-wilkinson-reveals-her-arm-nearly-had-to-be-amputated-after-falling-over-in-italy-on-holidays/news-story/fbe1393b4fb68c3dfb165f4dfe46e45c" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em>Daily Telegraph</em></strong></span></a>.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media"> <div style="padding: 8px;"> <div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50.0% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"> <div style="background: url(data:image/png; base64,ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaacwaaaascamaaaapwqozaaaabgdbtueaalgpc/xhbqaaaafzukdcak7ohokaaaamuexurczmzpf399fx1+bm5mzy9amaaadisurbvdjlvzxbesmgces5/p8/t9furvcrmu73jwlzosgsiizurcjo/ad+eqjjb4hv8bft+idpqocx1wjosbfhh2xssxeiyn3uli/6mnree07uiwjev8ueowds88ly97kqytlijkktuybbruayvh5wohixmpi5we58ek028czwyuqdlkpg1bkb4nnm+veanfhqn1k4+gpt6ugqcvu2h2ovuif/gwufyy8owepdyzsa3avcqpvovvzzz2vtnn2wu8qzvjddeto90gsy9mvlqtgysy231mxry6i2ggqjrty0l8fxcxfcbbhwrsyyaaaaaelftksuqmcc); display: block; height: 44px; margin: 0 auto -44px; position: relative; top: -22px; width: 44px;"></div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BWhFiXChtJa/" target="_blank">And so ends my beautiful Italian holiday with two badly broken bones after a shocking fall on a wet bathroom floor. For all the ouchy hurty details see my column at @huffpostau or on my twitter feed. 😢</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by Lisa Wilkinson (@lisa_wilkinson) on Jul 13, 2017 at 11:30pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>“The doctors were very sweet but not very talented and they put a cast on that cut off my circulation for four or five days,” she said.</p> <p>After returning home from the trip, Wilkinson visited her local doctors who informed her that she was within 24 hours of having her arm amputated.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="498" height="285" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7265433/3_498x285.jpg" alt="3 (22)"/></p> <p>She recalled how she was given a full arm cast despite only breaking bones in her wrist and due to the intense pain, she was in tears every day.</p> <p>“When they put the cast on I was so out of it because they aren’t big believers in painkillers in Italy, I’ve now discovered. So they manipulated my bones back into position without any pain relief,” Wilkinson said.</p>

Caring

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