In a moving display of love, compassion and dedication, Jenny Underwood has donated blood and plasma 130 times since she was 18 to support her younger sister who was diagnosed with a life-threatening bone infection – Osteomyelitis – at two-and-a-half years old.
Jenny has vivid memories of Michelle suffering a sudden fever and hip pain on a family fishing holiday in Caloundra in 1966 that left doctors confused until their investigations revealed an infection had spread to her hip bone.
“Shelley was deliriously ill,“ Jenny said.
“She was rushed in an ambulance to the Mater Children’s Hospital in Brisbane and, because she was so sick, the surgeon just said to my Mum, ’Michelle is very ill; look, if she’s still alive in the morning, I’ll operate’. And that was the worst night my mother ever had.
“It was touch and go for many days.“
Michelle remained in the Mater for 17 weeks, with another 12 weeks in The Xavier Home for Crippled Children in Coorparoo once the infection cleared.
According to Jenny, besides the skill of the orthopaedic surgeons and care given by the Mater’s dedicated nurses and nuns, Michelle’s life was also saved by the numerous blood transfusions she received.
“From the moment I was eligible, I became a blood donor,“ Jenny said.
“I too wanted to help others in the same way generous strangers had saved my baby sister’s life.“
While the treatment was successful, the infection caused gradual and long-term damage to her hip. Michelle, who is now 61, finally had a hip replacement in 2009 at the age of 45. She has outlived two orthopaedic surgeons and has three children.
“She has lived a long time with a bad hip but never complains,“ Jenny said.
Jenny Underwood was raised alongside two sisters, Julie and Michelle in the Lockyer Valley where her father was a primary school principal.
After graduating as a boarder from Brisbane Girls’ Grammar School, she attended Teachers’ College at Mount Gravatt and continued to donate blood as she taught at various schools across the State.
In 1993, Jenny was appointed the teaching principal of Cameron Downs State School on a cattle station south of Hughenden in northwest Queensland. From there, the nearest donation centre was in Townsville about 500km away.
And, after marrying a local grazier, she would book appointments in Rockhampton (a good nine hours’ drive) to coincide with bull sales.
In 2015, Jenny and her husband Roger relocated to Wallumbilla in the Maranoa region where they continue to run Eversleigh and Wallace Vale Droughtmasters, with Jenny donating blood every time they make the nine to 10-hour round trip to Toowoomba.
“My husband knows that when we’re planning a trip blood donation is my priority. It’s not shopping or meeting friends, the first thing I organise is a blood donation appointment. I would love to work out how far I’ve travelled to donate over the years.
“But, it’s hard to describe, I just feel so honoured to donate.
“You feel fulfilled, I suppose. And the staff, I cannot praise the staff enough. They really do employ the right people.
“From the people you ring for your appointment, to the person who first welcomes you at the front desk, to the person who then takes you in for your interview and does your blood pressure and haemoglobin then supervises your donation once you are ‘in the chair’.
“They are incredible and Australia has one of the best – and safest – blood services in the world.“
Jenny’s commitment has also inspired friends, family and colleagues to join her, creating a small network of regular donors in their community called The Droughtmaster Bleeders, which currently boasts 27 members.
She said the importance of their efforts was emphasised every time someone they knew was diagnosed with cancer, most recently her brother-in-law David who is now in remission from Multiple Myeloma.
“I was talking to a lady yesterday who has a form of Leukaemia and she said, ’Look, thank you. I know I’m probably not receiving your blood products, but the fact that there are people like you who donate is saving my life’.“
One of Jenny’s big milestones was to reach 100 donations. She finally achieved that goal on Monday, 7 August 2019.
“It took 40 years but I did it!“
Her next milestone is to reach 150 donations.
“I plan to continue donating even after I turn 80!
“In that time I hope lots more people will roll up their sleeves to donate blood and give someone the gift of life.
“It really is the best feeling in the world.“
* For more information, please visit www.lifeblood.com.au
