PAEDS Small Talk

In this heartfelt episode, Janaya, shares her family's challenging journey after her son Tobias was diagnosed with a rare childhood cancer called infantile fibrosarcoma. Diagnosed at three weeks old, Tobias's life has been a series of medical challenges, surgeries, and treatments, complicated further by the COVID-19 pandemic. Janaya discusses the importance of parental advocacy, the emotional rollercoaster of medical diag...

In this episode of PAEDS Small Talk, Grace interviews 19-year-old singer Piper Butcher about her journey with a cleft palate, her advocacy role with Operation Smile, and her music career.

Despite a start in life which involved multiple oral surgeries to repair  a cleft palate Piper has gone on to become an amazing vocalist and 2023 contestant on Australian Idol. She shares how she has overcome these challenges and emerged...

This episode of "Paeds Small Talk" features an in-depth conversation with renowned pediatrician Dr. Lexi Frydenberg. Grace and Sarah discuss navigating the healthcare system when there are developmental concerns about a child. The episode underscores the complexity of accessing pediatric care and provides actionable advice for parents.

The episode aims to empower parents by clarifying their options and encouraging proactiv...

Our final episode on this special, poignantly being released on the 12th of May (International Nurses Day) is about Sarah, who began her paediatric nursing career in the UK.

In Australia 33% of our nursing workforce are born overseas, and with them they bring a wealth of knowledge and skills that can be applied here to improve the quality of nursing care.

Sarah speaks about her experience training in the UK and wo...

Episode 4 in our mini series for International Women's Day 2024 we are speaking with Katie, who entered into Nursing after having already established herself in a different career, and she has never looked back!

 Katie is an accredited nurse immuniser and a clinical nurse specialist at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne.

She's an advocate for trauma informed patient and family centered care ...

Continuing on with our International Nurses Day mini series. Today you are going to hear from Lea. After many years in the acute paediatric space, Lea has made the move into school nursing and supporting children from prep to year 12 with the formative health foundations to make good choices. Its a slow burn, and she doesn't always see the impact she is having straight away, but its incredibly rewarding as you will hear.

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International Nurses Day 2024 has the theme 'our nurses, our future, the economic power of care' which highlights the importance that nurses play within our society and how much they contribute to people's health. 

I this episode of our special mini series for IND 2024 we speak to Rhi who works in a medical and respiratory ward supporting children and their parents through their hospital admissions. She comb...

This PAEDS Small Talk mini series is a little different to our regular programming. Instead of chatting with parents and children, in light of International nurses Day on the 12th of May - we are going to speak with 5 incredible paediatric nurses who will share their journey into becoming children’s nurses and the diverse roles that they have now. We discuss the amazing highs and the very real lows of nursing along with some nurses...

In this heartwarming episode of Paeds Small Talk, we delve into the extraordinary lives of Sarah Hunstead and her daughter, Izzy, offering an intimate glimpse into their daily challenges and victories.

Sarah, is a seasoned paediatric nurse with a rich background in paediatric emergency care and founder of CPR Kids , and shares her unexpected journey into the world of autism, sensory processing disorder, and OCD, after her...

In part two of our special Sweetheart Day episodes with Maddie she is sharing her story of York, who has aortic stenosis, a severe heart condition.

She poignantly recounts the heart-wrenching moment when she and her husband, Josh, had to perform CPR on York, they affirm the profound bond they share with the PICU staff and the exceptional medical team.

Despite the hurdles, York's story radiates hope and resi...

This episode is part one of two episodes where we have a heartfelt conversation with Maddi, the mother of York, who born with a congenital heart defect known as Aortic Stenosis.

Maddi's recounts her unfathomable journey through York's diagnosis, multiple surgeries, and the struggles of reconciling everyday life with living in the hospital. Maddi gives us a raw, intimate look into the challenges and triumphs of n...

Turning 18 and becoming an adult is a big deal in anyones life.

In the health system when you have a disability, illness or complex medical condition you move from paediatric centric care to adult care at around this time. This means that not only the model of care changes but the person is now potentially more responsible for their own health decisions than they were before.

In this episode we chat with Nat who ...

In this episode we are speaking with Kate who is a mum of 3. Her eldest child was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) early in life.

Kate describes her experiences the diagnosis in New Zealand, the struggle of acceptance, the lack of immediate support post-diagnosis, and her pursuit to ensure her daughter reaches her full potential.

We also explore how Kate juggles her many balls, including parenting h...

We are back for part two with our chat with Mim!

In this episode, Mim discusses her second pregnancy and birth which was a little earlier than her first. Although she had some experience of prematurity the first time around and knew a little of what to expect from a NICU admission, Covid struck! Being a parent to a sick child in NICU, while your husband and other child are a few hours away, with Covid restrictions thrown i...

Mim had quite a long journey to parenthood, with struggles with infertility. When she and her husband finally did welcome their first born into the world it was a bit earlier than they had planned at 27 weeks gestation. She discusses the experience of being a first time Mum to a new baby in the NICU and brings with it her insights as being a nurse herself. This is such a unique episode with some important discussions around how we ...

Maddi found herself stepping into a carer role at the age of 13 while she watched as her mother became more affected by the symptoms associated with Huntingtons Disease. She discusses what that role looks like to a teen who is still finding their own purpose and identify in the world and yet dealing with concepts beyond their years. Her bond with her mother and the joy to have had the beautiful relationship they shared shine throug...

When Claire was  pregnant with her second child, antenatal scans revealed that he had a congenital heart disease and a high chance of a Trisomy 21. Whilst she and her family were coming to terms with this information she went into labour at 37 weeks and little Max was rushed across to PICU for his first open heart surgery.  

We spoke with Claire about the whirlwind and rollercoaster that having a child in the PICU from bir...

Melanine Dimmitt is a writer, author, editor and broadcaster. She is also a mother of two young children, one of whom has a profound medical disability and one she describes as "medically boring".

She has interviewed some of Australian royalty and written for well know publications such as The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and MamaMia, and when her son Arlo was diagnosed with cerebral palsy she used her skills in jo...

Just before Ania's eldest daughter turned 2 she noticed Grace was not meeting her developmental milestones. She was fairly quickly diagnosed with autism and rapidly linked in with NDIS support.

In 2020 admits the COVID pandemic and after the birth of Ania's third child, Grace began having seizures which resulted in her ending up in hospital to investigate the cause. Genetic testing revealed two rare genetic disor...