Latest News
Child Health Check Launch in Alice Springs with Minister Tony Abbott
10th April 2007
Nova and Daniel in Street Warriors Video Clip
Nova and Daniel were a part of the filming of Street Warriors new video Clip on Tuesday the 10th of April. The filming took place at the Eora Centre in Redfern with lots of familiar Indigenous faces taking part along with many of Wok and Abie's family and friends. Sean Choolburra, Choc Mundine and David Peachey were also there moving to the deadly new hip hop tunes.
The Street Warriors will be working with Nova at a number of events this year.
April 2007
Nova a proud Ambassador for Beyond Blue Peri natal awareness program
Nova has recently become an ambassador for Beyond Blues Perinatal program. She launched this program last week at parliament house. You can read her speech below;
Firstly I would like to say that I am very honored to be asked to be patron of Beyond blue National Perinatal Mental Heath Program.
The reason why I accepted this role and was very enthusiastic about creating public awareness for this was;
In 2003 after the birth of my 3rd child – my life started to change. I started to neglect myself... I would cry at the smallest things and most things. I would never leave the house... I stopped calling my friends. I hated the way I looked…
I was the mother of one teenage child, a two year old and then a new baby boy…life was challenging…my weight gained and gained – I would go down the street and people would ask if I was pregnant again..
My husband had to literally drag me out of the room where I would just lay and stare at the ceiling. Waiting for nightfall. The reason to actually stay in bed.
When my kids would run around I would just sit and watch. A far cry from an Olympic, world championship and commonwealth games arena and a once energetic person who had represented Australia for over 14 years.
Why was this happening to me?? It was when my hair started to fall out and when I could not remember the simplest things like my husbands name (true)...that was the final straw when I knew something was not right.
I had become fat, forgetful, fatigue and seriously depressed... I went to the doctors and with blood tests I was diagnosed with Hasimotos disease – an autoimmune disease, no reason it just happens and to me it did.
Hasimotos disease is a very common illness and postnatal depression can trigger this. Once I started my life long medication I felt better. One month later when I went to the fridge to take the medication I thought to myself – for the rest of my life 3 small pills will physically and mentally keep me in the norm.
This was very very hard to come to grips with after my sporting career where physically and mentally I was in full control.
What could I do?? Well all I could do was, come to grips that this was my life and I had to deal with it... since I had gone public with this I had received so many letters for bringing awareness to my illness and depression and how I had dealt with it.
Depression is alive and eating away at people’s lives and quite often ending people’s lives. We need not be ashamed at this. Public awareness is so imperative for the cure of depression, letting people know that there is support for them, and letting women know that there are programs out there to support them and most importantly listen to them.
The hardest and most challenging experiences I have ever had in life were
not winning gold in sport but it has always been being a mother, why??
Because I pride my life on being the best mother a child could ever want,
supporting my kids and giving them the best start in life and opportunities
is bloody hard work – it is a 24 hour job.
My work today with the federal department of health and ageing involves national promotion with child and maternal health, healthy lifestyles and regular health checks; it was for all of these very reasons why I gladly accepted this role to being a patron of beyond blue national perinatal mental health program.
Thank you.
April 2007
Indigenous Stars at the Rabbitohs
Nova's team the Rabbitoh's will take on the Bulldogs this week. It should be a good game and we will look forward to the big forward pack confrontation with the likes of Asatasi and Kidwell, taking on Mason and Ryan.
Jason Taylor has coached a very disciplined Rabbitoh's team, allowing their dynamic backs to become a try scoring machine. Williams has been throwing some great passes out the backs allowing Merritt to show his supreme pace.
Peachey is playing some of the best footy of his career, often seen drifting with depth before hitting the line with lightning speed. His old sharks teammate, Vagana with the assistance of Hegarty have been bone crushing and solid in defence. While Widders has been so versatile and makes a huge impact to the team.
The rabbitohs will be unstoppable this year and we are very proud and pleased to have an ongoing assosiation with the David Peachey Foundation and South Cares and the Rabbitoh's.
Through this relationship we will be distributing posters to local Health services with their 11 Indigenous Star players, as seen below.
The David Peachey Foundation has also been kind enough to donate 5 signed Rabbitoh's Jerseys and 5 Rabbitoh's exclusive trucker caps as well as autograph cards, to assist us in the promotion of Indigenous Health.
Nova will be attending the David Peachey Indigenous Knockout in Dubbo. Check out our Calendar for more information.
