When tube-fed triathlete, researcher and dedicated health advocate Juliette McAleer took to the stage at the RBWH Foundation Ruby Gala Ball, her heartfelt performance became just the latest in a laundry list of accomplishment that she credits to the teams who saved her life, and to the donors who support them.
Commanding an emotional standing ovation for her self-penned ballad, ’Just One Life’, Juliette sang not only to the medical teams who treated her near-fatal twisted bowel, but to the RBWH Foundation donors whose generosity makes life-changing progress possible.
Commanding an emotional standing ovation for her self-penned ballad, ’Just One Life’, Juliette sang not only to the medical teams who treated her near-fatal twisted bowel, but to the RBWH Foundation donors whose generosity makes life-changing progress possible.
“’Just One Life’ is the first song I've ever written,” said Juliette, “And it seems fitting to me that it's about the Foundation that supports the hospital that saved my life.”
Now tube-fed following her 2020 medical emergency, the Maryborough mum was a show-stopping surprise performer at the Foundation’s 40th anniversary celebrations, helping raise just over $200,000 for patient care innovation and life-saving research.
Fittingly, Dr Ben Dodd - the surgeon who led the team that saved Juliette’s life - was right there in the audience.
“The line ‘skilled hands give all and then give more’ will always remind me of the reasons those words were never just lyrics. They described the essence of what Dr Dodd and his team gave me: just a little more time to live this little life of mine with my loved ones, and to contribute to the world in whatever way I still can,” said Juliette.
Fittingly, Dr Ben Dodd - the surgeon who led the team that saved Juliette’s life - was right there in the audience.
“The line ‘skilled hands give all and then give more’ will always remind me of the reasons those words were never just lyrics. They described the essence of what Dr Dodd and his team gave me: just a little more time to live this little life of mine with my loved ones, and to contribute to the world in whatever way I still can,” said Juliette.
Now a leading ambassador for people with feeding tubes and a determined healthcare ally and advocate, Juliette’s experience is one of the many propelling the RBWH Foundation towards its next ambitious goal – a purpose-built facility for patients and families travelling long distances for treatment.
With plans for Foundation House unveiled at this year’s Gala Ball, fundraising has begun in earnest to ensure that patients and families from the furthest reaches of Queensland, Northern New South Wales, the Northern Territory and the Pacific Rim, receive the support they need during the most challenging times.
With plans for Foundation House unveiled at this year’s Gala Ball, fundraising has begun in earnest to ensure that patients and families from the furthest reaches of Queensland, Northern New South Wales, the Northern Territory and the Pacific Rim, receive the support they need during the most challenging times.
Watch Juliette's Performance
“Foundation House could help keep those families together through tough times, reduce significant financial pressures and ensure that patients have the support they need to focus on getting well and getting home,” said RBWH Foundation CEO Simone Garske.
“The Foundation knows it’s an ambitious fundraising project but if the past 40 years have taught us anything, it is with commitment, courage and the support of an incredible community that we can make the impossible, possible.”
