SUCCESS STORIES
In 2010 Gracelands produced a book, Turn Your Face To The Sun, to acknowledge and celebrate the successes people within the Gracelands programmes have experienced. Below are just a few of those stories.
Day Services
Geoffrey came to Gracelands as troubled young man and was referred
to the K2 programme in January 2006. By Geoffrey's own admission he
had done something silly that had got him into trouble but he did
not know why. At this stage Geoffrey had no understanding of the
severity of his actions.
Initially Geoffrey's day programme activities were cooking which
assisted him to gain confidence and improve his interpersonal skills
working in a group environment. Another of Geoffrey's activities was
'literacy' where he utilised the services of Literacy Waikato.
His commitment to literacy resulted in Geoffrey attaining his
learner's driver's license. This was a huge achievement at this
time.
Another milestone in Geoffrey's progress was his involvement in the
Enderley Community Centre programme. At Enderley he participated in
a variety of activities including personal health and wellbeing,
computer literacy, wood and bone carving, graphic arts. Geoffrey
also volunteered to actively participate in the pilot scheme of the
Green Acres Life Skills course.
In spite of a few bumps along the road Geoffrey felt that he had
made sufficient progress to participate in the Kotahi Tatou/ self
esteem program.
Since Geoffrey has taken ownership of belonging to the Kotahi Tatou
Self Development group he has become pro-active in taking a
different approach to problem solving.
Instead of choosing to walk off in frustration when things bother
Geoffrey the Kotahi Tatou Self Development group has given him the
confidence to sit and talk with Gracelands staff about what is
bothering him.
Geoffrey has been able to develop his personal use of a strategy
that allows him to acknowledge and write his issues down and sign
it, which assists in helping him manage challenges as they arise
during the day.
Geoffrey is demonstrating a huge amount of responsibility towards
helping other clients in the music programme. He competently works
the computer music system, sets it up for recording and makes sure
everyone is comfortable and having fun. Gracelands staff is so
impressed by this that Geoffrey is now a member of the Music
Management Team committed to continuous improvement and developing
opportunities for Gracelands and its clients. This has lifted
Geoffrey's spirits and confidence and given him the confidence to
commit to his literacy and to be consistent.
The path from here for a person like Geoffrey, in the K2 specialist
programme, is to increase his independence and self management to
the stage where he requires less support and supervision. This will
enable Geoffrey to access the community and preferably a job,
ultimately being discharged from the K2 programme.
Tauke!
In 1986, Jason Roberts was runner
up champion in the Central North Island Boxing Champs,
beaten to the top spot by his older brother. Soon after
that, he was invited to travel to Australia to compete
in boxing. Jason was 16 years old at the time. A week
before he was due to fly out, he was with a group of
mates travelling on the back of a Ute down Karapiro Road
when he fell out of the moving vehicle and hit his head
on the tar seal.
The first his parents, Frank and Puke Roberts, knew
about the accident was when they received a call from
the intensive care ward of the hospital. The doctors
didn't think Jason was going to pull through and it was
a very anxious wait for six weeks, while Jason remained
unconscious.
When Jason did regain consciousness he was paralysed
down one side and had lost the ability to walk, eat and
speak. That was the beginning of the long road to
recovery for Jason and his family. Jason is now 35 years
old and and though he is still semi paralysed he does
many practical things for himself. He has also learned
to speak again, and his father's goal for him is to keep
working on getting his speech clearer.
Jason has a full life. Every Monday and Thursday, he
goes to Gracelands and joins in the daily activities and
the outings that are planned. On a Tuesday, he attends
the Gracelands' Marae programme and learns Te Reo Maori
and weaving. On Wednesday, he goes to the Stewart Centre
in Hamilton, and on Friday he helps out at the
Gracelands' farm.
Jason says, 'What I enjoy doing most now is meeting new
people, and what gets me down the most is watching
people doing the sports I used to be good at. I know I
take my frustrations out on my family sometimes.'
Jason's father has given up full time work and now works
part time, so he can help his wife look after Jason. As
Frank says, ' The accident has changed all our lives.
Jason will always need looking after . We are grateful
to Gracelands that he has somewhere to go in the day, so
that we can still have some time to ourselves to do the
things we need to do.'
Employment and Rehabilitation Services
Lee Johnston's parents had one
long term goal for Lee, and that was that one day he
would be able to live an independent life. And that is
what Lee has very nearly achieved. He lives in his own
flat and with a little help and support from Gracelands
Services, manages his own life.
When Lee Johnston was two and a half years old, he was
going for a walk with his Mum when he pulled his hand
out of his Mum's and ran straight onto the middle of the
road. He was hit by an oncoming car.
His mother, describing the accident said, ' It was
unreal. It was in absolute slow motion . I could hear
screams in the distance but then realised it was me
screaming. His Dad was mowing the lawns and saw the
accident. He ran over and started administering CPR. I
went into automatic mode, ran inside and rang for an
ambulance. The neighbours were wonderful and all helped
too.'
The accident put Lee into a coma for several weeks and
when he awoke it became evident that he had severe brain
injury. He had to learn all the basic skills of life
again...to walk, speak and feed himself. Lee also had to
adjust to becoming right handed after the accident.
Beforehand he had been left handed.
But Lee's story is a positive one. He has fought his way
successfully through life and is now 33 years old,
living in his own flat and working. This is a great
testimony to what the human spirit can achieve. His
struggles didn't just last a year or two after the
accident. Childhood and school days were not easy for
Lee. His mother said, 'We were unaware how far reaching
the effects of the accident would be. As Lee grew up he
experienced mood swings and depression. Socialisation at
school was difficult, and his ability to problem solve
was impaired.'
However, at the age of 17 he moved out of home into
residential care, and he got his first part time job
working at Pak 'n Save. Since then, he has worked with
scrap metal and in a panel beating firm. He also helped
at the Rest Home where his Mum worked. It was there that
Lee helped another man, who had given up, learn to walk
again.
These days, Lee only needs support in some areas of his
life, things such as, dealing with difficult
appointments or mail, learning to save money and healthy
eating.
His Occupational Therapist at Gracelands has also taken
the time to teach him computer skills. That, combined
with his new ability to save money, meant he could buy
his first computer this year.
Recently, his confidence and problem solving ability has
improved a lot and his Occupational Therapist says, '
Lee needs much less support now, which is a tribute to
his self motivation. He really wants to help himself.'
Lee's response to that comment was, 'I looked at other
people who had brain injuries and realised they did the
same thing over and over again each day of their lives.
I thought....do I really want to be like that or do I
want to change? When it boils down to it, I am the only
person who can make my life better.'
Gracelands supports many people like Lee who have had
life changing accidents. The goal for many of them is to
help restore them to living a life most of the rest of
us take for granted, that is, to live independently and
be able to work.
Most people know that Gracelands
Services supports people with mental disabilities, but
many don't know that Gracelands also supports people who
have had accidents and have significant physical
injuries. In fact, 70% of Gracelands' clients have
physical impairments, which is not the public
perception.
Gracelands supports people like
Mana Montgomery. In September 2006, Mana was out doing
her job delivering milk on the milk truck. She didn't
know that a bottle had broken and milk was running out.
She jumped up on the back of the truck, picked up a
crate and slipped on the spilt milk as she stepped down.
She fell awkwardly on her shoulder. Thinking she was
probably only momentarily hurt, she didn't report the
accident to anybody at the time.
For two months, Mana was fine, but then she began to
notice that her shoulder was turning black, her arm was
tingling and her hand was going numb and swelling up at
nights. Finally, she went to the doctor who referred her
to a specialist. She had developed an acute case of
Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, and had surgery in December
2006.
The result of this was that at that time Mana could no
longer return to the job she had been doing or, for that
matter, any jobs she had ever had or trained for. She
was also reportedly told that she would never be able to
do heavy lifting for the rest of her life. This was a
big set back for Mana and it meant a whole change in her
thinking to adjust to her potentially residual
impairment.
Mana then commenced ACC's
Vocational Rehabilitation Programme and was referred to
Work Outcomes (a partnership between Gracelands and
Physio Plus) for a 'Work Ready Programme'. Although Mana
could not return to her pre-injury job, she did have
many transferable skills which could be utilised in
other lines of work. As part of this programme, Mana had
the support of an Occupational Therapist (OT) to arrange
work trials as a sales assistant at Repco.
OT made sure that what she was doing each day wasn't adversely
affecting her injury, and also gave Mana any other
support she needed. Mana is hoping she will soon be
ready to get back into a 40 hour week job.
Life
can suddenly change for any of us, like it did for Mana,
and we don't know when we may need the services of an
organisation such as Gracelands to support us or our
family through the changes that accidents can often
result in.
At 42, Tony felt he had the picture perfect life that so many aim for.
Married with three children and a great job in management with a
transport company where he had worked solidly for 22 years.
Life was good, he felt in control ' he was living the Kiwi dream ' and
then all within a day his life was turned upside down.
In his generous spirit, Tony underwent a surgical procedure in hospital
to donate bone marrow to an anonymous recipient. During the procedure,
his body rejected the oxygen he was being given and his oxygen levels
dropped to only 85 percent.
Discharged the next day and thinking everything was fine, he was told he
should be fully recovered within four days. However, three weeks later
it become clear to Tony and those around him, that he wasn't handling
life's normal pressures ' that particularly of his job.
Suffering from chronic fatigue and scared to leave his own house or mix
with other people, Tony's wife Eileen knew something was up. 'One
morning Tony drove off to work but five minutes later he came back
again, walked through the door and just broke down and wept. Tony has no
memory of the following four weeks ' he'd had a mental and physical melt
down. After those four weeks, I had to go everywhere with him,' Eileen
says.
Tony's trauma and subsequent dilemmas were signs of a brain injury,
suffered when his body rejected the oxygen during the procedure in
hospital.
'When his brain is bombarded with environmental stimuli that most people
can cope with, he gets easily overloaded to the point where his brain
can stop processing altogether, ' says Gracelands Occupational Therapist
Lucy.
ACC accepted Tony's claim as medical misadventure and he was placed in a
rehabilitation programme, which included having Lucy as his occupational
therapist (OT).
Following regular sessions with Tony, where Lucy focused on fatigue and
memory management strategies, the pair would head out into the community
together to support Tony as he learned to cope with life again. Through
Gracelands, Tony also visited a clinical psychologist who taught him to
recognise the early signs of stress and how to cope with it.
Over time, Tony graduated from a Training for Independence Programme to
a Work Ready Programme, both run by Gracelands. Tony has been involved
in a work trial within the Gracelands complex in Hamilton and is now
considering taking on part time work to help support those with
disabilities in the workforce. This will be done through Gracelands
Supported Employment Programme.
Tony can now manage life much more independently and sees Lucy and his
psychologist less frequently as time passes.
Looking on the past 2 years, Tony now has a new outlook on life.
'I feel like this accident was supposed to happen to me. Good things
have come out of it and it has taught me about life. I used to go so
fast but have learned to survive at a much slower pace - now I want to
help other people who have had brain injuries. I have come this far
because of the support team I have had around me ' and I think my own
will power has helped too.'
Eileen also sees the positive changes in her husband. 'He was very
stubborn before but now he has mellowed out,' she says.
John Franklin had just bought
himself a new bike and planned days off work riding his
new Kawasaki KX250. But the dream didn't last very long.
Soon after, John's farm manager, Cory Veens, borrowed
the bike outside of work time, had an accident and on
his 29th
birthday found himself in hospital with a leg broken in
seven places.
John and his wife, Sarah, share milk and contract milk
two farms near Tokoroa. They run 1100 cows and employ
five staff. Without Cory on board, there was nobody to
shoulder the responsibility of running the second farm
and no one had any idea how long it would take for Cory
to recover.
The ordeal became quite a challenge as March dragged on
into April and then May. With the busy season drawing
near, John and Sarah had to look for temporary new
staff, even though there was no house for them as Cory
was still living on the farm, and there was no knowing
how long they would need to employ them for.
But they were lucky. They found a Welsh couple who were
happy to slot into the job, and a house was found for
them on the next door farm. This couple proved to be an
excellent find.
Meanwhile, Cory was sitting at home feeling bored and
depressed. He knew he was fortunate to still have two
legs as the first diagnosis from the doctors was that
his leg would have to be amputated. However, they
changed their minds, and Cory ended up with 18 screws
and 2 plates in his leg and knee.
Every day as he watched the milk truck drive up and the
guys working he felt frustrated that there was nothing
he could do to help. But it was, in fact, this drive and
frustration that finally got him through his
rehabilitation.
In July, ACC put him onto Work Outcomes for a Work Place
Assessment. Work Outcomes is a partnership between
Gracelands Services and Physio Plus. Cory was given an
occupational therapist (OT), a physiotherapist and a gym
trainer.
Not knowing how long Corey would be off work was a
frustration for Corey and for his employers, John and
Sarah. They were extremely relieved to meet the
occupational therapist from Work and Outcomes who
understood farming and could give them some general time
frames to plan around.
By August, Cory began light duties and each week
increased his work load. He worked hard on his
rehabilitation and achieved every target he was given by
his OT, physio and trainer. He took on the night
checking of the herd on a 4 wheeler, giving other
workers the opportunity to have a good night's sleep. By
September, he was back into full time work.
But that wasn't the end of John and Sarah's trials.
Unfortunately, in August, the Welsh man fractured his
hand playing rugby and needed plastic surgery. As a
result he went on to ACC. Followed by another farm
assistant having an accident doing weekend motor cross
and going on to ACC. In November, John developed
pneumonia and had to have 2 weeks off work, and in
December another farm assistant needed surgery for an
old injury and has had 3 months on ACC.
As John says, 'We've learned through it all we can get
through. Your main guy can be down and everything go
wrong, but you can get through.' Cory reiterates this,
'It feels like the end of the world some days, but you
can get through it. The team was really good, the OT,
physio and gym trainer set positive targets for me, and
they were my link to information and hope.'
Anthony has been a client of Gracelands supported employment
programme for about four years. He self referred at that time,
having received a traumatic brain injury in 1996 from a work related
accident in Wairoa. He had recently moved to Cambridge at the time
of his referral.
Initially Anthony undertook some training, namely a chainsaw course,
followed by a safety course with Agri New Zealand which was followed
by part-time self employment pruning and felling trees in the rural
area around Cambridge. He then had a weekend job with Gracelands
Green in Cambridge working solo ' which eventually proved too
stressful. After some time working at the airport Anthony went down
a path for which he was highly motivated. Anthony wrote this story
himself.
*****
My journey into a career in Mortuary Science started, indirectly,
through a friend who recalled a past conversation with me and
suggested I apply for a mortuary technician's job at the Waikato
Hospital. Although I was unsuccessful in getting the job I was keen
to follow this career path.
To learn more about the industry I purchased text books and DVDs on
embalming, post mortem pathology and human anatomy. I found this to
be a good way to learn about the profession and to make certain this
was what I wanted to do.
Months of job seeking later I received an email from Glenn, at a
private funeral home asking me to spend some time with him at the
funeral home. I spent time making up caskets, scrubbing out the
mortuary, sorting instruments and chemicals and prepping various
areas. I knew when I walked into a mortuary environment it was
either going to feel right or not. It was very much what I expected
and it felt right!
About a month later they offered me a position assisting Glenn. My
jobs include pick ups for the Police/Coroner, private pick ups,
trimming caskets, embalming and many more mortuary duties. I also
assisted at a funeral service.
I admit there have been a couple of times when fatigue, difficulties
with memory recall, my reaction to mood and environmental changes
brought about by my brain injury has caused a few problems but I
have worked through this. There are many things which could have
stopped me from persisting in this career but I know I can do this,
so I will keep at it.
My long term goal is to work as a technician for Waikato Hospital
Mortuary Services, assisting with post mortem examinations and
embalming duties. I admit to not being a strong person when dealing
with people on an 'emotional' basis but the funeral industry is a
great place to start. If there is one thing I have learned it's to
be persistent, listen, learn, keep positive, don't be influenced by
others views of the job, and most of all be assertive!
To sum up I could not have got this far without the assistance of
the staff at Gracelands Supported Employment Services, Work and
Income, other funeral homes, Mortech Industries, Waikato Hospital
Mortuary Services, encouragement from family and friends and the
funeral service staff who gave me a chance.