Southern View: June 24, 2021

SOUTHERN VIEW Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Thursday June 24 2021 5
MAKING A
DIFFERENCE:
Ben and
Nevaeh
McCallum
paint over
graffiti in their
neighbourhood
as part of
the Off the
Wall graffiti
programme,
PHOTO:
NEWSLINE
Dad and daughter team
up to take down graffiti
REMOVING GRAFFITI from their
Spreydon neighbourhood has become a
family affair for a father and daughter.
Ben and Nevaeh McCallum volunteered
for the Off the Wall graffiti programme,
run by the city council, in 2017 after seeing
a brochure about it at their local library.
Nevaeh was only seven at the time, but
Ben wanted her to have a strong work ethic
and felt getting rid of graffiti was a worthwhile
task to tackle together.
“At the time there was a lot of graffiti
along the front of our shops so we decided
to get active with that,” Ben said.
As part of the Off the Wall graffiti programme,
they help paint over graffiti in
their neighbourhood.
They’re also ‘tag-spotters’, who report
Seeing young people
develop a reward
for boxing coach
• From page 1
Sullivan has also been the Ultimate
Martial Arts Fighting secretary for the
past five years, and team manager of the
Canterbury Boxing Association since 2013.
And last year, for the tenth year in a row,
she ran the South Island novice champs
in spite of Covid-19 public gathering
restrictions.
It was no easy feat to host 45 competitive
amateur boxing bouts online in a single
day through a live stream, with no crowds
cheering from the sidelines.
But boxing was never Sullivan’s first love
– she put the gloves on for the first time 14
years ago as a way to stay fit when she was
a Canterbury tennis representative and
national football trialist.
“I found boxing one day and just loved it,
there’s an amazing community of people.
It’s a physical challenge and at the same
time it’s a mental challenge,” she said.
“If I knew what I knew now, including
all the opportunities I’ve had, I would’ve
gone a lot further.”
Sullivan took up coaching after a
number of injuries, enabling her to stay
close to the ring.
The Woolston Boxing Club, which
also received its own service award,
was established in 1967 by the late Ron
graffiti to the council when they see it.
It has been a fun experience for Nevaeh,
which has come with an added bonus
many other kids will relate to.
“It gets me away from my brother,” she
said.
Ben doesn’t know many other people in
his age group who volunteer and worries it
is a dying art.
He said more people should give
volunteering a go.
“Definitely give it a go. You’ve got
nothing to lose. If it’s not for you, it’s not for
you. But you won’t know until you give it a
go.”
•It is National Volunteer Week from
June 20 to 26.
Mitchell and has a proud history within
New Zealand boxing circles.
It teaches the skills, techniques and
discipline required in order to be an
amateur boxer.
The club often takes youth members
with anger management or behavioural
issues under its wing.
The sessions provide a positive
environment to help members improve
self-esteem, including patience, impulse
control and the ability to focus.
Seeing young people grow and develop
was “better than anything” she could have
imagined.
Said Sullivan: “We’ve got kids from all
different backgrounds and people from all
walks of life with their own personal issues
and struggles. The cool thing was, at the
last tournament, two kids in our classes
[competed] and their [school] teachers
came and watched their fights.
“One of the teachers got in touch directly
and said they saw an improvement in the
kid and he really wanted to come along to
support and congratulate him.
“It takes a tonne of commitment and
discipline to keep weight and fitness on
point. It’s not like football, there’s no game
every weekend. You have to train hard for
months with no guaranteed outcome.”
LIPOMAS
A Lipoma is a benign mesenchymal
tumour comprised of “mature adipocytes”
(namely fat cells). Lipomas are very
common in the dog, rarely in the cat.
Believe it or not I have several small
lipomas on my arms that cause no issue.
They are often picked up in a routine visit,
are non-painful, soft, moveable and slow
growing. Breeds at risk are the Labrador,
Retriever, Doberman, Spaniel and Beagle.
No one knows why they pop up and they
are classified into three groups –
• Simple lipoma – a benign, slow growing
mass that expands rather than invades.
They can get really huge. They are usually
encapsulated and easy to surgically shell
out. They are most commonly seen within
the fat tissue on the trunk and limbs. Very
occasionally they can be found in the
chest and abdomen. Depending on where
they are they can impede movement
causing abnormal gaits and neurological
deficits may be noticed.
• Infiltrative lipoma – These are locally
aggressive, invasive and can disrupt the
surrounding tissues. These have been
known to cause spinal cord compression.
• Myelolipoma – These are benign and can
commonly occur on the spleen, adrenal
glands and liver. We rarely see these.
Diagnosis is made by fine needle
aspiration cytology, radiographs and
ultrasound (especially of lipomas in the
thorax and abdomen or those inbetween
muscle planes). Cytology of the mass can
be done while you wait.
Most lipomas require NO specific therapy.
We usually only suggest surgical removal
if they are impeding motion or function or
in an area that irritates the dog. Surgery is
usually straight forward and it helps having
cautery for the large tumour removals as
they have a decent blood supply. Often
suction drains are inserted due to all the
dead space left and blood tends to want
McMaster & Heap
Veterinary practice
Open 7 days
Cnr Hoon Hay & Coppell place
phone 338 2534, Fax 339 8624
e. mcmasterandheap@yahoo.co.nz
www.mcmasterheap.co.nz
to pool there. Complications of surgery
can be delayed wound healing, seromas
forming or occasionally nerve damage if
the lipoma is deep.
Recently we had a referral to give our
opinion on lipoma surgery for a 12 year
old Labrador called “Tess”. She’s had a
multitude of lipomas (diagnosed via
cytology) for years but some have started
growing quickly, causing her severe
mobility issues. Kirsty initially saw Tess
and thought she could make a difference
surgically to her quality of life and mobility.
One large lipoma had extended down the
right side of her chest and into her axilla
(armpit), impinging on nerves affecting
limb placement. She kept throwing this leg
outward.
Tess was a trouper under her anaesthetic
and has recovered well. The surgery took
nearly two hours and required lots of
sutures and drains to close large wounds.
Six lipoma masses were removed, the
largest weighing in at 1.6kg. She should
hopefully find it easier to walk now. Tess
was discharged on good pain medications,
weight loss diet and a recommendation
for Physio to help her mobilise quicker and
improve muscle strength. She was a gentle
old soul to treat and we hope we have
made a difference to her quality of life.
Dr Michele McMaster
McMaster & Heap