A Thanks for Service: Jaime White
By Dannielle Stewart for Team QENDO
You’ve met our incredible management team over the last few weeks on the blog, heard their stories and the experiences that are the drive for why they do what they do. But we thought it was important that you met our recently repatriated Vice President Jaime White, who returned to her hometown in New Zealand recently, to shine a light on her contributions to QENDO. Our Support Coordinator and Blog Coordinator Dannielle reflects on Jaime’s achievements and on behalf of all of Team QENDO says, thank you Jaime for you drive, compassion and ambition. You’ll always be part of Team QENDO.
Reflections from the Frontline
I first met the woman in question in the middle of a hot suburban summer, watching Susan Evans pass around her famous model of the female pelvis in a house on Brisbane’s south side. I was a few weeks away from becoming support coordinator, and I was surrounded by the few volunteers who would be my team - running an entire support line with four support workers? Sure, I could do that…maybe not, was Jessica Taylor mad? Perhaps. I didn’t really speak to the woman beside me until I passed her the pelvis and muttered that this was becoming uncomfortably like midwifery class, and as a newly minted registered nurse I was quite done with that business. She laughed and smiled in a way that only someone who knows exactly what you’re talking about can, because they’ve done it too. We realised we were both nurses and a friendship began. Slowly at first, but Jaime grows on you, sometimes through brute force until you realise you couldn’t possibly exist without her opinion on nearly everything. At the beginning of 2018, her QENDO’s new secretary, me their new support coordinator, we became a travelling duo; first suburb to suburb and then Sunshine Coast to Gold Coast, and even town to town. Together we tried to gain an understanding of this community that we were now part of supporting and empowering, we listened to stories, recruited others to be support workers and EndoMeet Facilitators until our numbers grew, and we were surrounded by ambitious, like-minded people who wanted to make change. This was just one of many grassroots efforts by members of our management, support and education teams to take our then thirty year old, Brisbane based organisation into the future and make us the organisation we are now. QENDO now offers services Australia wide and even internationally, our members and volunteers stretch from Cairns to Melbourne, from London to New York City - we offer the most comprehensive support, education and awareness services for endometriosis, adenomyosis, PCOS and infertility in Australia. Jaime has been one of many people crucial for that growth, and as support team leader, as a passionate advocate for all those affected by chronic illness, and as Jaime’s former partner in crime, I say thank you on behalf of our team of volunteers for your efforts.
Jaime’s own endometriosis journey began in New Zealand with several surgeries, one from a surgeon who was convinced her severe pelvic pain must have been appendicitis - a story you’ll hear from many an individual with endometriosis. It wasn’t until she moved to Australia and found an endometriosis specialist that she found a more complete picture of her health and how she could manage her condition. She’s an advocate for seeking a second opinion and seeing a variety of practitioners to help manage what is undoubtedly a multidisciplinary condition. She frequently shares how seeing a pain specialist was a turning point in her journey, before that she really didn’t think anything could help, but left with eyes wide open to a world of possibilities.
Jaime served as QENDO’s secretary in 2018, helping alongside other QENDO team members launch projects such as the expansion of our EndoMeets into regional Australia, organisation of our 30th Anniversary celebrations, QENDO’s branding makeover, and the expansion of several team as a result of her passion and tenacity for recruiting those who would go the distance. Jaime remained a committed support worker on the frontlines of the QENDO support team. In 2019 she stepped into role of Vice President alongside current management team Jessica Taylor, Isabella Gosling, and Ash Webb. The four have overseen some of the organisation’s biggest changes, achievements and growth, a powerhouse management team putting in work as volunteers that would be the envy of many a workplace. Jaime has attended conferences, been part of Ash Webb’s labour of love The Women’s Health Expo, served on boards, advocated on behalf of the organisation with politicians at state and federal level, and cultivated relationships with some of the country’s best minds in endometriosis, adenomyosis and PCOS to help provide the education and resources the community needs.
In New Zealand Jaime remains an advocate for menstrual and women’s health, with her Instagram account Warrior for Women’s Health, aiming to connect with Australian and New Zealand chronic illness warriors to empower and facilitate a sense of community. I know she will continue to great things in this sphere, and her contributions to QENDO will never be forgotten as she continues to support and encourage the work that we do. Thank you for your service, for your love, your passion, your ambition, and most of all, thank you for the memories, there have been so many, not one of us would be able to select just one.
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