15/08/2025
"90 seconds of presence. 30 seconds of clarity. It dismantled the fear."
Part 3 of 3 of our Co-Founder journey.
Enough about the problems, here is what we are doing about it.
For anyone who missed the earlier posts:
"From 16 to 20 I lived with relentless fatigue (labelled narcolepsy spectrum). While revising anatomy, I noticed my neck looked uneven. When I raised it, I was told I was too young for anything serious and offered psychology, “girls your age often have health anxiety.” The biopsy was inconclusive but suspicious, and surgery at 20 confirmed a rare thyroid cancer. These experiences shape how I think about care and inform our standards at Ninja Allied Health.
After the years of tiredness and the hospital months, I made a quiet promise: when I graduated as an Occupational Therapist, the small moments would matter. The words. The pause. The feeling you leave behind.
I have had many people message me privately with their own healthcare experiences, both positive and negative. I wanted to share two of my own that were very positive, I like to think that they are actually the majority, but it is the negative ones that tend to affect us the most.
Two minutes before my caesarean, my obstetrician leaned close and spoke quietly.
He answered my “silly questions”, named what would happen next, and watched my face until he saw me be calm. Ninety seconds of presence is all it took to reassure me and consider having a c-section a very very positive experience.
Later, when my daughter had breathing difficulties during COVID restrictions, her paediatrician did the same in a different way.
She listened, took every concern seriously, advocated for my husband to stay, organised an extra bed, despite the hospital rules of only allowing one parent.
These moments, held alongside my cancer experience, became our "real stories" that have helped frame the standard at Ninja Allied Health.
Care that truly helps starts with an open mind, valuing what the person says, and making sure they feel safe enough to be heard. From phone to front door we train for that feeling.
What we tell every client, out loud:
🥷 You are the expert in your own life.
🥷 If our approach is not working for you, say so, we will adjust together.
🥷 We welcome feedback. We will try our best, and we will own our mistakes. We are a team.
If you are comfortable, share one positive thing a health professional did that made you feel safe and understood. Your example might become someone else’s better day."
