Motorcycle crash survivor's road to recovery

Julia can remember looking down at her broken arm, the bone through the skin, as the propeller of the helicopter that carried her to Westmead Hospital for lifesaving surgery whirred to life.

She was riding her motorcycle on Valentine’s Day when she had a head-on collision with a four-wheel-drive, destroying her bike and nearly claiming her life.

Julia was the first patient transferred to the new trauma ward in Westmead Hospital’s Central Acute Services Building, a dedicated unit focused on caring for patients with multiple life-threatening injuries. 

“So many people have done so much work to put me back together. For me to be frustrated would be, I don’t know, I think rude on my behalf,” Julia said.

“I’m just very grateful for everything that everyone is doing.”

As part of Patient Experience Week, we also speak to Blacktown Hospital junior doctor Mithila Zaheen about her passion for volunteer work in western Sydney.

The Bangladesh-born Australian was recently named a finalist for Blacktown City Woman of the Year and her family’s roots in western Sydney, and patient care, couldn’t be stronger.