SNN December 2018

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CONTENTS EDITORIAL....................................................................................... 2 HANS WOUTERS - FINDING FUTURES....................... 3 JOSEPH DE THIERRY - A MENTOR ON A MISSION............................................................................................. 6 DIFFERENT STROKES - MOUTH-PAINTER DAYNA TIWHA............................................................................ 8 APLIC18 CONFERENCE WITH DR. BERNADETTE CASSIDY................................................. 11 LIBRARY - NEW ADDITIONS.................................................. 13 THE WHEELCHAIR CHALLENGE................................. JOHN MILLER LAW - KNOW YOUR RIGHTS............ 17 KALEIDOSCOPE FEATURE - AMY GLASSFORD REDEFINES RESILIENCE........................................................... 18 NZ SPINAL TRUST WELCOME BACKPACKS............. 20 THE BAIL BULLETIN..................................................................... 21 “GRIPPER’S RACE DAY”............................................................ 22 CONNECTING PEOPLE - BRETT LADBROOK SAMOAN SOJOURN................................................................ 24 FAREWELL TO DR. LINCOLN JANSZ............................. 27 KNOCKING IT OUT OF THE PARK - IAN MCDONALD TALKS ABOUT HIS CAREER.................. 28 FUNDERS AND SPONSORS................................................. 30 SPINAL NETWORK NEWS is published by the NZ Spinal Trust Send your contributions to: The Editor SPINAL NETWORK NEWS c/- New Zealand Spinal Trust, Private Bag 4708, Christchurch 8140 Tel: (03) 383 7540 Fax: (03) 383 7500 Email: peter.thornton@nzspinaltrust.org.nz Web: www.nzspinaltrust.org.nz DESIGN & LAYOUT: Melanie Evans COPY PROOFING: Thanks to Jackie Grimshaw and Jharna das Gupta for their help with this issue. DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in SPINAL NETWORK NEWS are those of its contributors. They do not necessarily represent the opinion of the members of the Editorial Committee or the policies of the New Zealand Spinal Trust. 15 EDITORIAL TEAM CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Peter Thornton Hans Wouters Dr. Bernadette Cassidy Mike Brown Brett Ladbrook Melissa Kelly Eddy Bramley Elizabeth Bransgrove Patrons of the New Zealand Spinal Trust, Sir Tim Wallis (left) and Trevor Harrison (right). PETER THORNTON Hi my name is Peter Thornton, I am so proud to be the editor of this great magazine. I believe it is a publication that has the power to change lives, but it is only as strong as the community who support it. I encourage anyone who is living with SCI to get in touch and share their story. We’d love to hear from you. A special welcome to Jackie Grimshaw and Jharna das Gupta who has helped proof-read this <strong>December</strong> issue and has done a superb job. BERNADETTE CASSIDY Hi, my name is Bernadette Cassidy; I am delighted to be part of the Spinal Network News Editorial Team. I have been with the New Zealand Spinal Trust as Information and Design Services Manager for 16 years - there have been lots of changes over the years particularly the role of information. Having access to quality and timely information empowers people ‘to reshape their lives’. Angela Brown Charlotte Kerr Beatrix Woodhouse Thanks to Dayna Tiwha, Ian McDonald, Joseph De Thierry, Amy Glassford, Bernadette Cassidy, The BAIL Team, Hans Wouters and Brett Ladbrook for the images used in this issue. Cover Photo: Dayna Tiwha is a professional mouth-painter. He encourages all people with an SCI to get into the craft. 2
EDITORIAL SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO... I am like a kid in a candy store. I cannot contain myself. Touch rugby season has arrived and it is without doubt my favourite time of the year. I am driving home and I can feel the warmth of the sun on my skin. The grass is green and I am itching to get out there and play. I quickly change from my work clothes into my touch rugby singlet and shorts and walk up the road to the local park. The next two hours are the highlight of my week. It is time away from all of the stress, my iPhone which is a constant source of calls and problems, time without the kids and time where I can be totally free and have fun. It is back to how life used to be. I sit down on the edge of Windsor Park, a ground where I have spent more than half of my life playing rugby, and know that I am lucky to still be here. I have suffered my fair share of injuries and hardship through sport - it has been 21 years since I broke my neck as a 17-year-old playing rugby. I still reflect on how lucky I was that day, it could have all been so different. But I am happy to be back here, in so many ways this field is my home. There is no place I’d rather be. Our team’s battle away and notch up two untidy wins – the saying “the older I get the better I was” comes to mind – but I have to have some perspective. I walk to the side-line at the end of the game and I take a moment to look around. There is a laughter and happiness in every direction… sport has a unique ability to bring people together. We have a few pints after the game to talk about our wins and more importantly to reminisce about how good we used to be, before we go back to reality. Sport. Beer. Laughter. It is good for the soul and I need it each week. So what is my point, I hear you saying? Good question. I ponder the same thing as I put on my jandals and begin my short wander home. The point is I need something to look forward to each week to be at my best. We all do. We all need something to get excited about. From October to March, I have it in touch rugby. I love everything about those summer nights. While my wife Katie might get tired of me talking about or planning our life around my one night of the week, I don’t care, I love it. But I know that I don’t do enough of this stuff. For roughly 20 nights of the year I am in my happy place, but what about the rest? How intentional am I with my life? How much stuff do you have in your life that gets you excited? What is getting in the way? For me personally, I am pretty good at having that one event in the distance that I look forward to and work towards – like the summer holidays at the Bach at the end of the year – but that often feels out of reach and is not enough. I need regular things that are different and exciting – going to see my favourite band play live, getting out for an early morning run along the beach, reading a fictional book, mowing the lawns, playing golf with mates – all escapism to make the grind of life achievable. American author Rita Mae Brown summed it up best when she wrote “Happiness is pretty simple: someone to love, something to do, something to look forward to”. The ‘something to look forward to’ part is probably the biggest challenge for our generation when time is at an absolute premium. Now don’t get me wrong, I love my wife and two beautiful daughters more than you can imagine, but time away from the little monsters is also special. It makes me a better Dad. Yes Mum needs that even more – the day-to-day routine of looking after two kids under three is relentless – and that is another column in itself. Back to the touch rugby… my mates and I fix most of the world’s problems after a couple of pints. I tell them I am looking forward to the day when I don’t limp over the finish line to complete the year. I tell them the first week of my holiday is mostly napping and catching up on sleep. It is met with a chorus of “Me Too’s”. Everyone is busy. Everyone is under the pump. Everyone is giving their all for their families. We are in our mid to late 30s. We have young kids and dream of days gone by. It is important to have things to look forward to – but even though that is my point – maybe the solution is actually in the antonym. Part of the solution is enjoying each moment of every day. Easier said than done in the stress and pressures of modern day life I know, but it is attainable. “Stop. Slow down. Life will never be the same again so soak up where you are right now with the people around you.” Too often in life we get caught up looking at what is coming on the horizon and we don’t celebrate what we have achieved or actually stop to soak up how good life is around us. My three-year-old daughter giggling when ‘Daddy Monster’ is chasing her, a high-five from my Old Man on the golf course after I smash a drive down the middle, a hug and a kiss from my beautiful wife when I get home, a room filled with laughter and banter with mates who are as close as family. Stop. Slow down. Life will never be the same again so soak up where you are right now with the people around you. I am home now. I’ve had my run around at touch rugby. I’ve had a couple of pints and I have walked home weary but happy. I am already counting down to next week. I pause before I open the front door. It is important to have something to look forward to, but it is just as important to make sure the golden moments of everyday life do not pass me by. 3
Page 1: Dayna Tiwha We talk with world-clas
Page 5 and 6: 5
Page 7 and 8: pretty dark places and that was har
Page 9 and 10: tongue By Mike Brown He makes it lo
Page 11 and 12: Dr Bernadette Cassidy says after at
Page 13 and 14: NEW ADDITIONS CHECK OUT THESE GREAT
Page 15 and 16: The Ministers in a Wheelchair for a
Page 17 and 18: KNOW YOUR RIGHTS with John Miller L
Page 19 and 20: “Amy wanted to research a number
Page 21 and 22: THE BAIL BULLETIN HAPPY END OF YEAR
Page 23 and 24: Cameron Lammas having his beard sha
Page 25 and 26: Brett Ladbrook was blown away by th
Page 27 and 28: Farewell to Dr. Lincoln James Leona
Page 29 and 30: Q & A AJ POUA New Zealand’s first
Page 31 and 32: TiLite ZRA Experience the cutting e

SNN December 2018

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