By Kath Gannaway
Patricio Soares will have a lot of memories from his time in Australia, and patting a wombat at Healesville Sanctuary will be one of the good ones.
Patricio, 9, was brought to Melbourne from Timor Leste by the Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children (ROMAC) program for life-saving surgery at the Royal Children’s Hospital.
The surgery was needed to remove a tumour from the right side of his chest that had been identified as malignant and requiring four courses of chemotherapy.
It’s a tough gig for a child, and for Patricio’s father Norberto who arrived together late on 17 September and went immediately to the hospital where the operation was performed the next morning.
After three weeks recovering in hospital where he was cared for by his Rotarian host parent Dianne Sides and visited by Rotarians and members of the Australian and Timor Community, Patricio was discharged early in October and commenced chemotherapy treatment.
Healesville Rotarian, Graeme Chester, said as Patricio had become stronger, he had been given the opportunity to have different experiences, including a visit to Healesville Sanctuary with host parents Kay and Phil Leck.
Mr Chester, a volunteer guide at the Sanctuary, said the Sanctuary had been very supportive of ROMAC over the years.
Patricio and Norberto enjoyed a day away from the more serious side of life to spend a day in the bush.
“They thoroughly enjoyed the outing, and in particular the pat and play session with nine-month-old Gem the wombat,” Mr Chester said.
