Nominated for an Ozzie Award: Jilted Twice and Poisoned for Life

Margaret Rose, who prefers Margie, loves nothing more than to talk about her days, acting on the world stage.

Boasting singing and dancing talents, Margie always took to center-stage, performing in shows such as; The King and I, The Sound of Music and, with her likeness to Julia Andrews, Mary Poppins. The stage was her world; Margie was happiest when performing and, like her dance teacher at the time, Margie envisioned herself singing and dancing her way well into her golden years.

Not yet a famous actress, Margie had taken on a role as a dental nurse in a children’s clinic to fund her flamboyant and creative lifestyle— this is also where she met her first husband.

The pair volunteered to join the ‘Flying Doctors Service’ and planned to settle in Ceduna, where they would improve lives together as husband and wife. Her husband insisted on flying over before Margie, to help set up the clinic... Tragically the plane he boarded crashed. He was killed a week before the wedding. Margie felt cheated and destroyed.

Her parents helped her to deal with the pain. She found a new direction to divert her energy and thoughts by joining the Health Commission of New South Wales. This gave her a chance to work with children in a school dental clinic.

With her love of children and passion for helping others, Margie saw taking this position as a way forward in her journey of healing. Had she known what she does now, Margie would have bolted from the job or not taken it up at all.

For two torturous years, Margie was made to work with a faulty amalgamator. An amalgamator is a tool used to mix the amalgam for dental fillings, this liquid is made up of 50% mercury.

“I asked for, not a new one, just a recondition. The Head Man told me that the Health Commission was too poor.”

“Walk out and sneeze it off and the problem will go away.”

She sighs and shakes her head with; “Only, it didn’t go away- it just got worse.”

“Approximately 50 years ago, it was not unheard of to have a device that mixed the liquid amalgam with mercury powder without encapsulation.”

This resulted in higher exposures to mercury says Gwen Baristo who is the Policy Officer from the Australian Dental Association.

Due to mercury poisoning having such a cocktail of possible symptoms that vary from individual to individual, it was almost impossible for doctors to diagnose patients who got poisoning from exposure.

As Margie’s health slowly deteriorated over the years, she left doctors baffled- until one doctor was finally able to diagnose Margie with mercury poisoning.

“At the start, the symptoms are very trivial. It was just twitching of the eyes or nose. Would you go to the doctor and say: ‘Look, Doctor! My eyes are twitching!’ You wouldn’t go, would you?" She says, shaking her head to confirm her disbelief.

At that time Margie was in her early twenties. She was told her life was over before it had even begun.

The shocking news came as a double-edged sword. Mercury poisoning also stole her singing voice from her. At that time, she had only one final exam to pass, to become an associate teacher in singing. Her dream career had died a slow, painful death.

Before the mercury poisoning diagnosis, Margie had met another man through her singing and dancing. After several years of dating, a wedding date was finally set. The two couldn’t wait to start a life and family together! Margie had felt her happiness return... but only for a fleeting moment.

Margie went to see a gynaecologist when her and husband decided to start trying for a baby and was informed that the mercury poisoning had destroyed her reproductive organs and that she could not conceive children.

She was gutted. Margie gathered the courage to speak with her husband-to-be... he sadly broke off the engagement the night before the wedding day.

Margie reflects that while dating, they had fondly talked about having a family of four. Margie could not give him the children and fantasy lifestyle he craved... so she was left to live through yet another heartbreak.

Shockingly, internal damage didn’t stop at Margie’s broken heart or destroyed reproductive system. By this stage in her life, Margie was told that the mercury poisoning had destroyed half of her enzymes.

She had to take 200mg of prescribed Pethidine each day just to digest one meal. Word got to her local church about how she relied on medication for survival. Another blow came when Margie was labelled as a drug addict by her church instead of being met with support when she needed it most.

In an interview with Gwen Baristo, it was said that during the era that Margie would’ve been a dental nurse, education about the dangers of mercury poisoning did not exist.

Dentists were neglectful about wearing their government-issued protective gear and even if worn, it wasn’t saving lives. Tools such as a high-speed drill used on amalgam fillings resulted in respirable particles of amalgam dust. This toxic dust is absorbed rapidly into the blood through the lungs and other major organs such as the heart which receive a high dose of mercury within minutes of exposure.

Over time, this excessive exposure slowly destroyed Margie’s lungs and other major organs. Margie’s right lung is now blocked off by the mercury and every day is becoming more difficult as she struggles to breathe.

Margie was told to bring her ‘squeeze cloths’—which is a cloth utilised to wipe excess amalgam— home with her and wash them.

“The mixed amalgam was squeezed in a ‘squeeze cloth’ to remove excess mercury liquid, in those days no gloves were worn so the mercury made direct contact with the skin.” Says Gwen Baristo.

Margie’s parents owned a self-heating washing machine, unbeknownst to the danger, they lovingly washed her ‘squeeze cloths’ and other dental gear. The washing machine became the cause of her parents’ deaths as well as her two small dogs.

When they’d reach into the washing machine, they directly inhaled mercury vapours. As for the dogs, the sheep’s wool they slept on was riddled with mercury vapour that they inhaled. Had Margie known what she does now about mercury, she never would’ve brought her work home with her.

Through Margie’s constant battle with her health, came a knee replacement that unfortunately became infected. Her orthopaedic surgeon decided to wash the knee out to rid the infection, but as Margie was awaiting surgery, she went into cardiac arrest.

The nurses came in to find Margie gone and despite desperate attempts to revive her, Margie’s organs were not functioning on their own.

In a desperate attempt, the head nurse in the ICU had asked if Margie had a pet. Margie’s pet poodle, Phoebe who she calls “the love of her life” was brought in.

The nurses assumed Phoebe would be frightened, instead she took the machines keeping Margie alive off of her and licked her all over.

Margie woke up on her own. It was nothing short of a sheer miracle.

Unfortunately, Margie’s legs were only getting worse.

She was left with no choice but to finish her respite in a nursing home. Margie admits how disappointing it is that she’s had to end up in a wheelchair, having to rely on someone else to take her anywhere, shower her or dress her

“It’s so degrading.”

“I have battled all the way, but I refuse to give in, even though it is at times, almost impossible. But I will keep fighting and I’m determined to the bitter end; I still want to walk. My motto is: Never Give Up.”

“I do hope this encourages people who are finding it hard to cope, to just keep on going.” She says with a look of hope in her smile and eyes.

Despite all the pain and suffering, Margie only asks the Lord that he please leave her with her mind, her sight and her hearing.

“In current practice, all amalgam is contained in capsules that are sealed and have to meet an ISO standard. There is no physical contact with the mixed amalgam and all staff use masks and gloves in the operatory. High volume suction is also used when removing amalgam restorations, to reduce risks of exposure.” Says Gwen Baristo.

If you would like to watch my interview with Margie. please follow this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4g23s-5ZRg&feature=youtu.be

Remembering Margie.

Margaret Rose unfortunately passed away in 2019. I share her story in hopes that more people get to know the amazing and strong woman who taught me so much in such little time.