Inspired by a presentation from a visiting lecturer from Medecins Sans Frontieres, Prudence Wheelwright from the small town of Crookwell in New South Wales, Australia, knew that her destiny was to one-day work for this organisation. Motivated by her Grandma Mardi’s words, “Don’t sell yourself short because you are a woman”, she was determined to not only acquire the necessary skills but also to use them to help people, who were affected by conflicts, disasters, diseases but without access to regular health care.
In her outstanding debut book, “The Flying Nurse”, she not only recounts her challenging but fulfilling work with this charity but also her fascinating, action packed career in the world’s most remote and inaccessible, far-flung locations as a nurse and midwife. Beginning her career in the isolated area surrounding Alice Springs, Central Australia, later on a contract in Saudi Arabia, then travel, and eventually by completing the necessary training the fulfillment of her dream; Medecins Sans Frontiers’ Paediatric HIV 12 month project in Kulob, Tajikistan.
Her vivid descriptions of working in refugee camps, on dangerous front lines and in conditions in third world countries, are both confronting and hardly imaginable by readers in more affluent parts of the world. The reader is left in no doubt that this highly skilled nurse is not only passionate about her patients, as well as improving their healthcare, but also about being the voice ‘amongst thousands of untold stories’; stories of lack of proper, safe, affordable healthcare.
Prue has certainly packed a great deal into her first 32 years; no doubt her next 32 years will be as fulfilling.
