SPINAL NETWORK NEWS

NZST
ANZCoS 2008 Continued
spinal cord injury.
It was now time to put on the frocks and gladrags and
network in the best way possible – the conference dinner.
A string quartet played softly in the back ground as
we walked into the
conference dinner.
It looked magical.
Amazing what some
coloured lighting
can do. The floral
arrangements by
Natacha Mayer just
topped it off. Shagger
Acland was once again
our MC. He started the
evening by thanking
our Conference Dinner
Sponsor and Robert
Parkes representing
Medtronic also had
a few words to say.
It was then down
to thanking all our
invited speakers and
to present them with a little token of kiwiana. Finally it
was time to thank the keynote speaker Fintan Sheerin who
also had a gift for Rick. A shearer’s singlet with Shagger
Acland on the front and toilet man on the back (I still don’t
think he would know where to direct those in need to go
where to go!!) The shearer’s singlet was accompanied by
some gumboots and a blowup sheep!!! All of a sudden the
sound of riverdance was heard and the raucous laughter
continued as Rick and Fintan danced across the stage.
It was then time to eat, drink and dance the night away
with Barock entertaining us all. But the surprises weren’t
over yet as Julian Verkaaik showed what a talented man
MY ANZCOS CONFERENCE
I was one of the fortunate recipients that received a
scholarship from the DD Heads Trust to attend the
ANZCOS Conference held in Christchurch – November
2008. This being my first ANZCOS Conference combined
with knowing little about the area of SCI (spinal cord
injury), I didn’t really know what kind of conference to
expect, and what I would gain from this. After the first day,
I soon realised that attending this conference was a great
way to learn and extend my knowledge about the area
of SCI, while also increasing my understanding around
some of the key elements & aspects to a person’s spinal
rehabilitation journey. It gave me a greater insight into
the area of SCI and different aspects to the rehabilitation
process. I had the opportunity to learn about some of
the latest research trends and rehabilitation approaches
overseas, and what’s effective and what’s not, in and around
the area of SCI. Attending the ANZCOS Conference also
gave me the opportunity to network with both people who
have spinal injuries themselves, as well as those who work
both in NZ and also overseas in the area of SCI.
Relating my ANZCOS experience to some of my own
he is and thrilled us all with his rockstar performance. The
dance floor was jammed!
For the organising committee it was hard to believe it was
all over. Two of the best decisions we made were firstly,
to host the conference
at the Christchurch
Convention Centre.
What a magnificent
venue. Secondly,
Conference Innovators
– Fantastic – without
the expert assistance of
Helen Shrewsbury and
Rachelle it would have
not run so smoothly.
There is plenty of
photograph evidence
of the memories made
at the social functions.
Some can be viewed
and purchased online
at http://www.
nzspinaltrust.org.nz/
photos.asp. All profits
from the sale of photographs will go to The NZ Spinal
Trust so please consider purchasing a reminder of the
wonderful Conference! The conference proceedings are
also preserved on DVD – IT is wonderful – the powerpoint
pages automatically flip over as you watch the video of the
presenter! All conference participants received the DVD
so if you missed out on attending maybe someone you
know will lend you their DVD.
Start preparing your abstracts so we can do it all again in
2009 in Perth. Until then its time to consolidate on what we
have learnt to continue to fix it, rehabilitate, stop wearing
out and use it.
KAREN MARSHALL
difficult times which I’ve experienced in life so far, such
as having a speech impediment, I believe that even if your
role in a person’s rehabilitation journey isn’t always big and
dramatic , it could be something as simple as just being there
to encourage some along the way during the rehabilitation
process. You as one of their support avenues, in what ever
role that maybe. It may not seem a big deal to you, but
in the eyes of the person going through the rehabilitation
process it might mean everything and a contributing factor
to the final outcome in their rehabilitation. By attending
conferences and other professional development events,
even though they might not always be in the area where
you know heaps about, it provides an opportunity for one
to extend beyond your comfort zones and learn about areas
which maybe totally new to you. Sometimes by learning
about things which we might not be familiar with, we are
then in a better position to educate others and the wider
community.
MARTY
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