New Zealand’s optometry world was shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of Michaella Dolling.
Michaella had been unwell for some time but decided not to let this interfere with living life to the fullest.
Raised in Whanganui, Michaella showed early potential for a number of careers. By 17, she made the decision not to pursue a promising career as a clown – she entertained children at weekends in Trafalgar Square whilst still studying at Whanganui Girls' College. Instead, she chose optometry, her main ambition.
Michaella graduated from the University of Auckland in 1997, returning to Whanganui for her first job.
Taking an OE to the UK, Michaella did a year of domiciliary optometry and completed UK exams in optometry. Being qualified and registered in both NZ and the UK meant she could pursue her love of travel, spending summers working in each hemisphere, tracing her family tree in the Shetland Islands and stopping off to visit different countries on the way.
Michaella loved meeting people and spending time with friends – old and new – wherever she went and was great at keeping in touch. People she had briefly met would utter the cursory and polite, ‘you should come and visit our country and stay with us,’ and were then surprised to hear, ‘that sounds great, I’ll be there in a few weeks’.
Her larger-than-life personality meant she had many entertaining travel stories. Her ability as a keen treadmill runner came in handy when she was stopped, ‘randomly’ by the Bolivian police for being in a nightclub after hours and asked to pay a bribe in the form of a ‘fine, payable immediately’. She decided to run rather than succumb to blatant corruption.
She was also very stubborn on moral issues.
Michaella was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer and, a testimony to her stubbornness, she was determined not to let her diagnosis get in the way of her love of optometry, travelling and dancing.
She saw her diagnosis and prognosis to mean that she could now travel to even more exotic and dangerous parts of the world. After her first round of treatment, she ventured to Israel during a period of heightened tension in the Middle East, only telling her family of this upon her safe return.
Michaella inspired many people. Within half an hour of meeting Ben, who became a good friend, she declared, “You’re too intelligent to be unemployed. Stop wasting your life and sign up to go to university!” Ben recently completed his PhD.
Michaella kept her diagnosis and pain from everyone except her closest friends and family, continuing to work until the last few months of her life. She then spent time with her family in Hamilton and Whanganui, as well as enjoying the birdlife and peace at her little bach at Kinohaku in the Waikato.
She passed away at home in late October. We will remember her for living more than most full lifetimes, in only half of one.
