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SATURDAY, October 6, 2012 9

How a great loss became the

inspiration for a great campaign

The driving force for a south-west cancer centre has

transformed from school reports which once labelled her
shy and unassuming. REBECCA RIDDLE discovers why.

For most of us this would be

where it would end. Wed pack
those notes in a memory box
for sentimental times but
not Ms Jellie.
This is where it all began.
Those simple handwritten
notes became the first chapter
of a story in which a rather
unremarkable woman, in
her own words, wont stop
until were cutting a ribbon
on a cancer centre.
When pressed, she admits
her school reports would say
nothing more than shy, quiet
and unassuming.
Her life reads much the
same as any other country girl.
She finished country schooling, moved to Melbourne for
a while, went overseas for a
time, met a boy at the local
pub back home, married and
had kids. But here is where
the similarities end.
What began with a funeral
has escalated into what member for South West Coast
Denis Napthine has described
as a community group that
has gained unprecedented
momentum.
Requesting
donations
rather than flowers for Peters
funeral saw Ms Jellie and her
family showered with more
than $3500 towards a cancer
centre. The fund-raising had
begun.
It was Shane Timms, Peters
palliative care nurse, who
came up with the name Peters
Project.
Its not just for my Peter
but for all the Peters in
the south-west, Ms Jellie
clarifies.
The further you live from
a radiotherapy centre, you
are 30 per cent more likely
to die.
One third of those diagnosed in the south-west of
Victoria will choose not to
have treatment because they
are too far away or they feel
they are too old.

Ms Jellie can roll these

statistics straight off the
tongue now.
Telling her story has become her life.
She admits she is uncomfortably anxious before she
speaks in public. She physically shakes, but this she
fondly terms as the fire in
the belly.
I feel the need to get up
and say something.
Ms Jellie has now told
her story to CEOs of medical centres, politicians and
prominent decision makers,
theatre groups and friends
but she fondly recalls her
first meeting.
It was a labour feasibility
study.
Gathered around the
table were 20 people, all of
them professionals in their
fields.
There were doctors, medical experts, CEOs and me.
We had to go around the
table and state our name and
where we were from.
It started at the other end
(of the table) ... when it came to
my turn I stood up and said my
name is Vicki Jellie and its
my fault were all here.
Its hard not to like Vicki
Jellie.
Shes warm, genuine, caring
and unassuming.
Her passion for Peters
Project is infectious and her
energy is contagious.
She doesnt like the spotlight and it still astounds
her that her role is a public
one.
But its easy to see why
people want to listen to her:
because shes one of us.
She has survived an
incredible loss and now she
is determined to ease some
of that pain her family went
through for others.
Its her determination that
defines her.
Mr Timms immediately

Vicki Jellie: Its not just for my Peter but for all the Peters in the south-west.
refers to how driven she
is.
Her determination is
beyond description if you
ask me, he says.
She has taken on the
big blokes and I dont know
if shell ever give up to be
honest.
Her only downfall appears
to be that she cant understand

when others cannot feel the

need for the project like she
does. Mr Timms agrees it is
her heart that drives her.
Vicki marry again today.
She and fiance Alan
met at a palliative care
bereaved partners group in
Warrnambool.
Alan too was widowed when
he lost his wife to cancer.

100416LP55 Picture: LEANNE

PICKETT

Both agree theyll never

replace their lost partners.
Its their memory that spurs
them on.
Ms Jellie continues to
live by one mantra penned
by Paul J. Meyer: Whatever
you vividly imagine, ardently
desire, sincerely believe and
enthusiastically act upon must
inevitably come to pass.

VR1441461

NEVER ever wanted or

thought this would be me
some days its just so
overwhelming.
Her eyes moisten and
roll towards heaven as she
struggles to hold back the
tears.
It has been an extraordinary transformation for Vicki
Jellie.
In just 20 weeks her world
was turned upside down when
cancer stole her much-loved
husband and threw her into a
battle of another kind.
A sore back and a perceptive doctor is all it took.
Ms Jellies husband Peter
was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in April 2008. Just
two weeks after they had
signed the papers on their
new, family dream home.
By September of the same
year Ms Jellie could only
stand by and watch as the
cancer literally strangled
him to death.
And now the tears that
had threatened begin to fall
freely.
How do you say goodbye,
she asks. There was no
time.
There may not have been
enough time to talk about it
but Peter had been doing a
lot of planning during his
treatments.
Just days after his death
Ms Jellie stumbled on pages
and pages of notes Peter had
written on building a cancer
centre in the south-west.
He had planned his own
50th birthday bash, Ms Jellie
remembers with a surprised
tone.
It was to take place in
March at his mate Colin
McKennas property.
It was to be a fund-raiser
in which friends bought a
ticket for $75 for a sausage
sizzle and auction.
He had even organised live
music and entertainment.
Finally a smile appears on
Ms Jellies face as she recalls:
He had even planned for
Sammy Newman from The
Footy Show to host the party
and if he couldnt get him it
was going to be Rex Hunt.