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President’s Report
President’s The Dr Sean Archibald ADAWA President Report
Dear Members,
As I write this report, we are on day one of another lockdown, after the COVID-19 Delta variant was confirmed in our community.
I have no doubt that if we had not been on the phone to the WA Department of Health until the early hours, that dental practice would be operating at Level 5 restrictions, as has occurred in the Northern Territory.
Advocacy is incredibly important within our association, and I hope all our members know we will always tirelessly work for you.
We lobbied for dentists to be considered for the WA lockdown grant assistance following the ANZAC-week lockdown, despite dental practices not being named in the eligibility list. We are glad that many dental practices have since been recipients of grant monies and I'm sure it goes without saying that ADAWA will again lobby on behalf of our members for any Government grant assistance that may be made available following this current lockdown.
We also encourage everyone in your practice to book in for their COVID-19 vaccination; it's not unrealistic to foresee a time when being vaccinated affects our ability to work and move around the community.
The latest lockdown is a reminder that, unfortunately, COVID isn’t going anywhere, so I please urge you to ensure you are subscribed to the ADAWA emails and that you join the ADAWA members' Facebook group and encourage your staff to join the ADAWA Partners in Practice Facebook group for updates.
Please continue to familiarise yourself with the COVID-19 resources, available on the ADA Federal website, ada.org.au/Covid-19-Portal/DentalProfessionals A feature in this edition of the Western Articulator is very timely, as we read about the family impact of COVID-19 through the stories of Drs Ruohan Zhang and Michael Khoury. We know that restrictions not only impact our members professionally, but also on a personal level.
Your association is here for you: please call the office on 9211 5600 if we can be of assistance.
I thank our members for their support and resilience during these difficult times. We are, indeed, stronger together.
Cheers,
Sean
All correspondence to
T (08) 9211 5600 E media@adawa.com.au A PO Box 34
West Perth WA 6872
President
Dr Sean Archibald
Chief Executive Officer
Dr David Hallett
Editorial Team
Brooke Evans-Butler Lisa Shearon
Designer
Amie Mason
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THE PRICE OF THE
The lockdown of 2020 — and the most recent stints in April and June — have been difficult on everyone in the dental industry, but especially for those who ended up separated from their families as a result.
Ruohan Zhang
For Ruohan Zhang, the story of being away from his family started well before COVID hit our shores. When he made the decision to study dentistry at UWA, he had to leave behind his wife Olivia and family in New Zealand. “My wife had received an offer to complete a second degree in law just after I had accepted my DMD offer, so we made a difficult decision for me to come first to Australia and for them to follow once we had both finished our studies,” Ruohan recalls.
“For the first three years, I flew back four times a year during our week-long semester breaks and Christmas holidays. Whenever we had a long weekend before a break or a lecture-free Friday, I would make use of the preceding weekend to stretch the visit out to 10 days, although each trip felt like the blink of an eye. It was fantastic when my wife and (son) Albert came over in 2018 just before having Walter, as we were able to spend time together as a family for a few months before they went back to New Zealand.”
Trying to find some balance between family and study across different continents, then five-year-old Albert ended up coming to Western Australia and joining Ruohan.
“I really missed the chance to have some real fatherson bonding experiences with Albert during my first two years in DMD,” Ruohan says. “While my wife focused on raising Walter (now two-years-old), working
and concurrently studying in NZ, Albert returned with me to Perth and we embarked on a year of adventure and unknowns in DMD3. Along the way, Albert tagged along to most UDSS, ADAWA and other dental events, and really enjoyed being part of the dental community, where everyone was so accommodating and friendly.”
COVID strikes
Unfortunately, COVID threw another spanner into the works for the family when Olivia, Albert and Walter got stuck in China whilst visiting family in January 2020. They remain in China for now.
“Not only have travel restrictions between China, New
Zealand and Australia fluctuated throughout 2020, air travel prices have also skyrocketed and the risk of contracting COVID during travel remains undesirable,”
Ruohan explains. “Hopefully, things will settle down a bit toward the middle of 2021 and they will be able to make it safely to Perth.”
Ruohan says initially when he first moved to Perth, being away from his family took a lot of getting used to.
“It was a major change from seeing and hugging your wife and children every night to being alone in a hot and humid student accommodation, not knowing how they were going or how my wife was coping,” he says. “The first few months were pre-occupied by quite a bit of initial concern and anxiety.
“As time passed, however, I realised that life is what it is, especially when it is a choice you made, and the important thing is not to focus on what you cannot control, but rather to direct your energy and attention into completing what you set out to do to make all the sacrifices worthwhile. Instead of simply being concerned for the family, I found emotional value in making sure I completed my DMD to the highest level; putting my concern into action, for example by sending the kids toys, flowers during special dates, or organising meal packs to make their life easier; and learning to let go of worrying about the family every moment and trusting that my wife had things handled.
“During something like COVID, which involuntarily takes away your freedoms to connect and creates so much risk in all facets of everyday life, I have found being in the right mental state and learning to direct my concern into positive actions particularly helpful in coping with what is otherwise objectively very dire and unfortunate circumstances,” he says, adding that another positive that has come out of the experience is that Albert is now fluent in Mandarin.
With China luckily in the same time zone, the family has been able to make the most of video calls, although with Olivia completing her final law papers remotely, of late the opportunities to sit down and have a good conversation have been scarce.
Support from the dental community
Ruohan says the dental community has been a great support. “Having never been previously involved in the clinical healthcare sector, I was really surprised by how close-knit and supportive the ental community is, particularly in WA, as well as the Dental School and my cohort,” he says.
“Not only did I receive a lot of support from academic staff to reflect my family responsibilities, when we were told children couldn’t be in the hospital for the birth of our second boy, my classmate Nathan and his wife Mandy didn’t hesitate at all in offering to look after Albert for the day so we could focus on
Walter. I was lucky in having a very cohesive cohort throughout the four years, and even from day one, everyone would frequently check up on how the family were doing. As a result of the shift to a postgrad degree, there were also quite a few parents in my year, between whom we could often have a chat about raising kids, school and family.
“I have to say that even though both my wife and I like to plan everything out in advance, the sheer amount of ‘life’ that concurrently undertaking the various aspects of Dental School and raising a family whilst in two separate countries throws at you was only survivable with the immense empathy and support around me across these four years.”
Advice to others in the same boat
To other families finding themselves in separate places, either because of COVID restrictions or circumstance, Ruohan says it is never easy, but often the periods of separation are in the course of pursuing something bigger and brighter in the future, and it is important not to lose sight of this.
“Practically, I would advise everyone to make the most of today’s technologies – not just Zoom and FaceTime, but things like online shopping and meal/flower deliveries, where our ability to surprise the kids/spouse is no longer limited by time and space, and one little gesture can mean so much from across the Pacific,” he says. “Be creative, be inventive, and don’t be afraid to push your imagination.
“Emotionally, there will always be times when it feels overwhelming and maybe even at breaking point, but I have personally gotten through it by drawing upon the experience of so many rounds of exams and hardships – which is by viewing any current predicament from the perspective of tomorrow or the final finish line, and realising that no matter how hard things feel now, we will always be there on the other side one day looking back, having surmounted the hurdle. So if we will be there one day – why not be there now.”
In closing, Ruohan expressed sincere gratitude toward his wife and children for supporting him through these years of dental school.
“Currently working six days a week while the family are still abroad, I am loving every minute of this profession and would not have it any other way. I cannot thank my wife enough for nudging me on to this career path and shouldering so many of the family responsibilities for me to walk it, as well as the kids for being my everlasting source of motivation and determination.” Having spoken to many of his colleagues, Ruohan said that most students have received support from family, partners and friends throughout their time at Dental School, which was instrumental in their successes. In his capacity as a Past President of the University Dental Students' Society, he would like to acknowledge and extend thanks to all the unsung supporters who have made this career a reality for so many students.
Michael Khoury
Endodontist Michael Khoury and his family have been living in Perth since 2007. However, when Michael’s wife, endodontist Rada Haddadin, was offered a position as an Assistant Professor at the University of Jordan, and as a consultant endodontist at the university hospital in 2016, Rada and the couple’s two daughters, Laila and Tiana, travelled to the Middle East, while Michael remained in Perth to complete his Doctor of Clinical Dentistry at UWA. The family made the distance between them work as best they could – seeing each other every few months for a couple of weeks and longer during holiday periods. They were able to celebrate every Christmas, Easter and most birthdays and anniversaries together.
COVID strikes
Soon after Michael left Jordan at the end of January 2020, Rada discovered she was pregnant, so Michael arranged to go back to Jordan in April to see his family. However, his flight was cancelled due to the COVID restrictions, which came into place in March. After that, the family was thrown more obstacles preventing them from being reunited.
From my part, travel was not an option due to airport closures and quarantine conditions, plus it was not guaranteed that I would get an approval to return to Perth. It was very hard on us to accept, especially Rada, that we would not be reunited before giving birth.
“The plan was for Rada and the girls to come back for good to Australia, especially after Rada got a new job at UWA Dental School,” Michael adds. “However, Rada had a complicated pregnancy and therefore she was prohibited from travel upon medical advice. Here, things started to get more complicated, because she contacted the consular of the Australian Embassy in Amman, who was very keen to get her on the first available plane to Perth, but her medical status was not cleared for travel.
“From my part, travel was not an option due to airport closures and quarantine conditions, plus it was not guaranteed that I would get an approval to return to
Perth. It was very hard on us to accept, especially Rada, that we would not be reunited before giving birth. She was in tears most of the time and I was here trying to calm her down and reassuring her that everything happens for a reason and that her parents are there for her. The COVID situation there in Jordan was getting worse with time, while here in Perth we were doing well and living a normal life.
“I am a family guy who enjoys and cherishes family time,” he adds. “I was worried about them all the time, being worried about their health was and how they can stay safe there! At the same time, I had to continue what I am doing and focus on finishing my studies. It was very hard to work while being stressed and concerned about the whole situation.”
The family connected via daily video calls (which was challenging with being in different time zones) but the obstacles meant that Michael missed most of Rada’s pregnancy, including the birth of their son, Mark, who arrived in September 2020.
“I was able to be with Rada on FaceTime while she was giving birth in the theatre as it was a caesarean delivery,” Michael recalls. “Her friend was with her and she held the phone during the delivery and took many photos. I was able to see Mark first and watch every single detail of this precious moment. It was very late at night in Perth time, but I was there till I was sure they were OK. I was also talking to my daughters
Laila and Tiana, who were at home waiting to hear the news anxiously. They were not allowed to go to the hospital due to COVID restrictions in Jordan. It was a night that I will never forget! I actually submitted my dissertation on that same day while Rada was on her way to the hospital!
“It was harder and harder every day when we had video calls,” he adds. “I wished I could be physically there to help with the baby and have sleepless nights. Having said that, Rada’s parents got COVID a few weeks after she gave birth. This made things quite hard on Rada and I felt even worse for not being there because she was dealing with the baby and everything around alone.”
Immediately after Mark’s birth, the family started the paperwork for Australian citizenship and an Australian passport for “I was so worried about them travelling under these circumstances, but they had to take the risk and they were very precautious during travel,” Michael says. “I went to the airport hoping to see them from a distance, but the WA Police let them out from a back door, which I couldn’t access.”
“Travelling with three children including a baby is normally challenging so you can imagine how more challenging and stressful it can be during this pandemic,” Rada recalls. “We were happy to arrive, but we did not expect what
Mark, so that Rada and the kids could finally come back to Australia. The process took around seven weeks, and after being apart from Michael for nearly a year, Rada and their children arrived in Perth on December 15, before going straight to hotel quarantine. was waiting for us. We had to go through lots of check points and very strict procedures at the airport and then we were taken to the hotel by a bus. We had to take all our luggage and belongings with us, and no one was allowed to help us with lifting the bags and so on. This was hard having a baby and a relatively recent
surgery. My younger daughter Tiana held Mark as Laila and I lifted the luggage into the hotel trolley. Finally, we went into the rooms at 11:30pm after a long flight and long wait.”
Rada says quarantine was a unique experience. Michael cooked healthy dinners for the family every day and dropped meals and supplies from the shops to the hotel. Online school kept Laila and Tiana busy, and Rada says taking care of little Mark made the time pass quicker, but there were times they felt bored and overwhelmed.
“I tried to put a smile on my face every day, although
I felt deeply sad,” she says, adding that baby Mark’s first Christmas was in quarantine, which was also the family’s first Christmas away from Michael.
“We made a Christmas tree out of paper and decorated the rooms to have some Christmas spirit,” Rada says. “I was holding my tears in front of the kids on Christmas
Eve. Michael came to wave for us that evening. We were dressed up for dinner and had a video call with him. Christmas 2020 was different – never to be forgotten! “I am really glad that time is part of the past now,” she adds. “However, when I reflect on that time, I can see some positive things out of it. We spent more quality time together as I had no other distractions. We were creative with the things we did, and we connected with lots of family and friends. We became more appreciative of the things we have. We cherish moments we spend together as a family. We make the most of our time and enjoy simple little things. It is a blessing to be together after everything we went through last year.” “COVID prevented me to be with my wife during the whole period of her pregnancy and the birth of our son, Mark,” Michael says. “I couldn’t feel the first kick and watch my baby growing inside my wife’s tummy. I couldn’t hold Rada’s hand when our son arrived safely into this world. I wasn’t able to hold my son when he was a newborn. It was the most difficult time that we have ever experienced in our life! I missed out on many tiny and big moments that no husband and father would choose to miss. I couldn’t physically support my wife during her pregnancy, but we managed to stay connected emotionally.”
Support from the dental community
“The WA dental community was very supportive, especially within the Dental School,” Michael says. “The school provided us with a support letter to help
Rada get her G2Gpass. My friends from the dental community were very helpful and supportive too.”
Advice to others in the same boat
“It is very hard to be apart, but you can do this,” Michael says. “Stay connected as much as you can despite the distance... remember it’s only temporary! There is always light at the end of the tunnel.”
Here to help our members
We know COVID-19 has impacted many of our members, both personally and professionally. Please remember we are here to help. For any developments with COVID-19 restrictions or lockdowns, ADAWA will keep our members informed every step of the way.
We also recommend members familiarise themselves with the COVID-19 resources available on the ADA website, ada.org.au/ Covid-19-Portal/Dental-Professionals
