marieclaire.com.au 73PHOTOGRAPHY BY KRISTIAN TAYLOR-WOOD. HAIR AND MAKE-UP BY JOEL PHILLIPS/VIVIEN’S CREATIVE.
Kylie Stark vividly remembers the day
Pia, then aged two, was brought into the
emergency department at Sydney Chil-
dren’s Hospital (SCH). The toddler
came in with a fever but while waiting
for test results she went into cardiac
arrest. The doctors and nurses worked
for 53 minutes to restart Pia’s heart
using a brand new machine that had
only been in the department for a week.
Over the years, Pia has had
several return visits to hospital – in
fact, less than a week after this
photograph was taken, Pia sufered an-
other heart attack, from which she isnow recovering – and her history has
fuelled her ambition to become a nurse.
“It’s special to have someone kind and
compassionate nursing you back to
health,” Pia says.
Stark says kids such as Pia are the
reason she got into nursing: “I signed
up to save children’s lives.”
After working all over the world in
a career spanning 34 years, Stark is
now the nurse manager at the SCH’s
emergency department. She looks for-
ward to the day Pia will return to hospi-
tal as a nurse rather than a patient.
“The extraordinary thing Pia will have
is experience. Her ability to connect
and be empathic will be an asset,” she
says. Her advice for the aspiring nurse?
“Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t
do something. Just go out and do it.’’Leading senior constable
Vanessa McGrath, police
dog trainer, 39, with
Sophie Lowry, 11In her 16-year career in the police force,
Vanessa McGrath’s proudest moment
was when her drug detection labrador
made her first bust. “Because I trained
Mabel from scratch and taught her how
to snif out drugs, I was so proud when
she made her first find at a dance party.
It was a big supply, so knowing that
we’ve gotten those drugs of the street
and may have saved someone from
overdosing is very rewarding,” says
McGrath, who celebrated by giving
Mabel a handful of treats and pats.
McGrath was a police oicer for six
years before she pursued her childhood
dream of becoming a dog handler. “My
commander told me it was very hard to
get into the dog unit – everyone wants
to run around with dogs all day,” recalls
McGrath, who had to pass a series of
fitness and personality tests to get into
the exclusive unit. Now she trains the
junior dog handlers, as well as pa-
trolling with Mabel at music festivals,
railway stations, pubs and clubs.
Sophie – who fell in love with police
dogs after seeing a video of a German
shepherd doing push-ups with his
trainer – would love to follow in
Vanessa’s footsteps. “Back yourself and
be confident,” she tells the dog-crazy
11-year-old.Kylie Stark,
nurse manager, 52,
with Pia Dunlop, 14Sophie, 11, who has her own
dog-walking business, was
in heaven at the police dog
unit with her mentor Vanessa
McGrath and police dogs
Mabel (below) and Arrow (left).