Sickness is unavoidable, and some diagnoses can be particularly tough pills to swallow.
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Even so, this year, Greater Shepparton saw its fair share of innovative treatments, medical advancements and those who plucked up the courage to carry on despite the hand they’d been dealt.
Let’s delve into some of the health-related highlights of 2025.
Locals share their journeys in sickness and in health
Painful. Powerful. At times, both.
Throughout the year, many residents generously shared their experiences with the News about the realities behind their diagnoses — and the strength it took to demand answers, seek treatment and keep going.
Take, for example, Shepparton’s Nicola Villani, 25, whose life had been shaped by endometriosis for the past decade.
Despite stage-four disease and five surgeries, “it’s never shown up on an ultrasound, not once”, she said.
Her experience of being dismissed, doubted and even accused of exaggerating reflects the findings of Victoria’s Bridging the Gender Pain Gap report, which revealed widespread medical bias against women.
After years of specialist appointments, soaring costs and constant pain, Ms Villani urges others to trust themselves: “You’re not crazy, your pain is real … keep fighting.”
Just outside Tatura East, Vicki Clowes shared how Parkinson’s disease had gradually stripped her of movement, independence and even her smile.
By late 2024, she could barely walk from one room to another.
However, a “risky” decision to undergo deep brain stimulation surgery in January — employing new technology never before used outside Europe — changed everything.
“I’ve got my smile back,” she said.
With her renewed mobility, Ms Clowes looks forward to helping others regain confidence and independence, too.
For Shepparton father Justin Rooney, 45, life shifted in an instant when blood tests and a colonoscopy revealed bowel cancer that had already spread to his liver.
Six months of chemotherapy, major surgery and more treatment followed.
In August, he was declared cancer-free — a result he knows many don’t get.
His message now is simple: don’t wait.
“I don’t want people going through what I had to go through ... get on top of it early,” he said.
Cochlear implant surgery now within earshot
GV Health made history as the first regional public health service in Victoria to offer cochlear implant surgery.
Previously, all public cochlear implant surgeries were conducted in Melbourne.
The first patient, Sue Kleinert from Wangaratta, described the procedure as “life-changing”, having struggled with severe hearing loss for the past decade.
“(I was) missing my children’s voices so much,” she said.
“It’s such a gift.”
Shepparton walks the Walk for Prems
On October 17, Shepparton pounded the pavement with a purpose: to take part in the city’s stint of the inaugural Mighty Trek Challenge.
Organised by Life’s Little Treasures Foundation, the fundraiser for sick and premature babies saw families, friends, hospital staff and supporters push a NICU incubator on a 900km journey that spanned from Sydney to Melbourne.
Before the moment came for Shepparton to push, heartstrings were pulled.
Local families and children observed a moment of silence and blew bubbles to honour the babies who could not be there.
Building up to Integrated Cancer Centre
GV Health moved closer to improving cancer care in the Goulburn Valley with the design of a new Integrated Cancer Centre.
Construction of the first stage is set to begin in 2027, backed by $30 million from the Federal Government.
Stage two, estimated at $90 million, remains subject to funding being allocated in the Victorian budget.
In December, the Copulos family announced a $2 million commitment to support its development.
Additionally, GV Health Foundation launched a community fundraising campaign with a target of $5 million to help realise the complete ICC, which will be named the Copulos Cancer Centre.
“If our community can get behind this project, we’re confident the Victorian Government will get behind it too,” foundation chair Stephen Merrylees said.
Aydin’s Christmas miracle
Justine and Tarik Turedi had no way of knowing that their son, Aydin, would face such a challenging start to life.
Not until a routine 20-week scan, when doctors couldn’t find their son’s gallbladder — a small detail that would later unfold into a devastating diagnosis.
Aydin was born with biliary atresia and required a life-saving liver transplant.
After being on the transplant waitlist since August, the moment they had both prayed for and feared arrived in November: a liver was not only available but also a match for Aydin.
“To the donor and their family, in their moment of heartbreak, they chose to give our son the gift of life,” Mrs Turedi said.