Regina Arre, of Papua New Guinea, says one of her favourite memories from the time she has spent in Newcastle is of her first dip in the ocean after years of refraining from swimming due to the colostomy bag that had been attached to her waist.
"I was very happy to swim," Ms Arre said.
The moment was symbolic of moving on from a host of restrictions the 32-year-old has had to live with since she was accused of witchcraft and brutally attacked in the PNG highlands in 2012.
She spent three years in hospital recovering from the injuries, however, local surgeons were unable to fix a major wound that left the mother and data entry clerk reliant on colostomy bags and, in her own words, unable to "live a normal life".
After three months staying in Newcastle, where she has undergone surgery and received charitable care from John Hunter Hospital's staff, Ms Arre is now preparing to return home to her family, including her eight-year-old son, fully healed.
She was cooking dinner for her son seven years ago when 16 armed men surrounded her and attacked. The horrific abuse was spurred by accusations of sorcery or "sanguma" also leveled at a second woman, who died in the assault.
Ms Arre underwent seven operations for her wounds, however, a fistula, or an abnormal opening, in the the lower intestine was too complex for local surgeons to fix. Instead, Ms Arre had to make do with the interim measure of undergoing a colostomy.
John Hunter Hospital's infectious diseases staff specialist Dr John Ferguson met Ms Arre during a visit to PNG four years ago.
"I go regularly to teach at the University of PNG and I was visiting Goroka to see an infection control nurse there from Sydney. She told me she had been supplying Regina with colostomy bags for some years," Dr Ferguson said. "I realised we needed to do something."
With knowledge of previous charitable surgeries undertaken by John Hunter Hospital staff, Dr Ferguson advocated for Ms Arre to be brought to Newcastle.
"I spoke to the surgeon, Dr Peter Pockney, and we got approval for charitable care," he said. "The delay was mainly around getting her passport. It was a very bureaucratic process."
Ms Arre travelled to Newcastle from her hometown of Jiwaka three months ago. Surgeons firstly had to determine whether the operation was possible, then they successfully repaired the fistula and reversed the colostomy.
Ms Arre said that due to the care she received at John Hunter Hospital she had decided to train as a nurse when she returned home.
"I am grateful to the organisers," Ms Arre said. "I feel good. Everything is good now."
Dr Ferguson said Australia could be doing more to improve the health outcomes of one of its closest neighbours.
PNG's health centres suffered from a shortage of doctors and resources, he said, as well as remoteness while facing a number of health issues, including high death rates from communicable diseases and high maternal and infant mortality rates. Violence related to accusations of sorcery is also believed to have become more widespread in PNG over the past decade.
"We should be regarding them as our brothers and sisters," Dr Ferguson said. "They're on our doorstep. Australia is not doing enough."
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