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Guest Character Profiles > Veronica Olenski Caroline Lloyd

Veronica Olenski 1998-
Occupation: Doctor, Gynaecologist

After treating trainee athlete Caitlin Atkins for exhaustion, Dr Veronica Olenski was on hand again some months later when potential triathlete Joel Samuels was trapped under a car and almost drowned during a freak accident. Dr Olenski was forced to inform him that he had done some damage to the ligaments in his knee and it could ruin his career just as it was beginning. After a couple of weeks in hospital, he underwent an operation on the joint, and afterwards, was told that he would need further reconstructive surgery and intensive physiotherapy just to be able to walk on it properly, but it was unlikely that he’d ever be able to compete in triathlons again. A few months later, Dr Olenski treated Craig ‘Pinhead’ Pinders, after he was involved in a car accident and spent a few days in a coma. And the following year, Dr Olenski was responsible for the care of Libby Kennedy and Brendan Bell when they were involved in a road accident – though Libby’s injuries seemed to be the most serious, she slowly made a full recovery, while Brendan suddenly passed away a few days after the crash.

As 2001 came to a close, Dr Olenski helped Libby again, this time when she went into labour. It had been a difficult pregnancy, as her injuries from the crash the year before meant that it was extremely dangerous for her to carry a baby to full term. Though the baby was delivered safely, Libby suddenly went into cardiac arrest. After being rushed into theatre, Libby survived and again, made a full recovery. In 2003, Dr Olenski continued her work on the maternity ward, helping to deliver baby Oscar Scully and, the following year, performed fertility tests on Steph and Max Hoyland, who were struggling to conceive. Initial tests showed that, due to cancer treatment the year before, Steph may have had irregularities in her uterus, but further tests concluded that Max’s low sperm count was the problem. Several months later, Max and Steph decided to adopt instead and met pregnant single mother, Kayla, whose baby, Ashley, was delivered by Dr Olenski, but ultimately the adoption fell through when she decided that she wanted to keep her child.

A few months after their adoption disappointment, Steph started having unusual symptoms and became worried that her cancer had returned. Following some blood tests performed by Dr Olenski, it was discovered that Steph was pregnant. During the difficult pregnancy, Steph’s cancer did return, but she refused to have treatment and, following the delivery of baby Charlie by Dr Olenski, she was rushed in for an emergency operation followed by several weeks of radiotherapy treatment.

Later in 2006, Dr Olenski was also on hand to inform teenage Sky Mangel that she was expecting a baby and, a few weeks later, was also responsible for the care of pregnant Izzy Hoyland, ultimately giving away the secret that she was expecting when she phoned the Hoyland house and left a message about an ultrasound appointment with Susan Kinski. Izzy left town that same day, but Sky remained and suffered through a difficult pregnancy, culminating in a dramatic birth for little Kerry when Sky’s hospital roommate Teresa Cammeniti, obsessed with a baby of her own, set fire to the hospital while Sky was in labour, desperate to cause a distraction and get her hands on the baby. With Sky's labour so advanced, Dr Olenski was forced to complete delivery with the smoke rising around them, before rushing them all out to another wing of the hospital.

Six months later, Dr Olenski was treating another Ramsay Street resident when Pepper Steiger found out that she had stage 2 cervical dysplasia. Though Pepper and her boyfriend, Adam were deeply worried, particularly when the word cancer was mentioned, Dr Olenski insisted that it was a simple procedure and she should have nothing to worry about, but they would need to keep a close eye on her with regular tests for a while. A few days later, Pepper went into hospital, where Dr Olenski performed the procedure with no problems, only informing her that she would have to refrain from any intimate acts with Adam for a month. A few weeks later, when Susan started having dizzy spells, her concerned husband Karl immediately made an appointment with Dr Olenski, who diagnosed her as suffering the early effects of the menopause.

When Carmella Cammeniti suffered terrible stomach pains a few months into her pregnancy, she was rushed to hospital where Dr Olenski performed an ultrasound and insisted that there was nothing to be alarmed about. With Carmella's business partner Marco Silvani in the room, she then told the mother-to-be that she was having a girl, a piece of information which Marco then accidentally broke to the baby's father, Oliver Barnes when he visited. Then, 35 weeks into the pregnancy, Carmella suddenly went into premature labour and was rushed to hospital. Though Dr Olenski thought that the baby was big enough to be delivered safely, further scans showed that it was in distress and would need to be delivered by C section. The operation was a success, but Carmella and Oliver were distressed to learn that their daughter was having trouble breathing and would have to be kept in a humidicrib in the neonatal unit. After a few days, the baby, who had been named Chloe, started to breathe unaided, and Dr Olenski happily reunited mother and daughter, offering advice to Carmella and her sister, Rosie, who had been put off having children of her own by recent events.

Biography by Steve

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