SNN_Dec 2021 Issue_web low res

NEW ZEALAND SPINAL TRUST 20
Telling it Like it is
Sharing some light this Christmas
—Teina Boyd’s mate
I don’t know what I get out
of bed for anymore Tee.
Oh. Okay. Thanks, COVID-19.
I think back to a conversation I had with a friend last
week. His shoulders hunched, his pants on wonky, his
mouth down turned.
“I don’t know what I get out of bed for anymore Tee.”
Teina Boyd never takes a day with her whānau for granted.
Teina Boyd is a tetraplegic based in
Tauranga. She was a patient in the Burwood
Spinal Unit in 2014. Prior to her injury, Teina
was a recruit for the NZ Police when she
fractured her neck at the C5 vertebrae in a
freak accident. It changed her life in a
moment. But Teina has never given up. We
are lucky to have her real and honest
reflections about life with a spinal cord
impairment in the SNN.
Reaching a hand out of the blankets I pick up my phone.
Soft light brightens my room as my phone shows the time:
5:31am.
Withdrawing back to the warmth beneath my blankets, I
burrow a little deeper, pulling them up around my cold
shoulders. A giant yawn makes my eyes water.
Snuggling my face into the pillow, I look around my room.
Everything’s so grey at this time of the morning. It’s
peaceful and sleepy. Like colours haven’t woken up yet.
I can hear the birds starting to sing from my neighbours’
trees. It makes me smile and wonder what they’re saying.
What are birds’ first thoughts when they wake up? Food?
Their mates? The cold?
I think this over for way too long, and without realising it
my morning grey is gone. Pale gold light filters through
my curtains, giving everything colour.
Right… what am I doing today? I reach for the phone
again to check my schedule…nothing.
His words had hit me like a brick wall. That level of raw
honesty is rare and pulled at my heart big time. I wanted
to wrap him up in my arms and warm his soul up.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t a good idea. Have you ever
seen two tetraplegics try and hug? Quite a risky sport.
I felt so sad for him, but I also understood.
The thought of getting up, dressed and washed just to roll
25m to the lounge to watch Netflix on a slightly bigger
screen is not the most fun in the world.
I hear the front door open and whispering voices entering
the house. The door closes and I hear squeaking shoes in
the front lobby. Smiling I can hear my nephew
unstrapping his Velcro shoes.
A loud thud from the bedroom next to mine tells me my
William is up now as well.
Turning towards my bedroom door, it slowly creaks open.
My messy haired pre-teenager standing there in his camo
onesie with the world’s cutest toddler pushing him out of
the way.
“AUNTY TEINA I GOT A NEW CAR!” he says with so
much excitement in his voice I can’t help but share his
enthusiasm. He runs to my bed before realising it’s too
high to get up on.
“DAD LIFT ME!” he whines over his shoulder as his little
eyes try to tippy toe over the edge of the bed to see me. His
tiny hands trying to pull himself up. I give him my hand
and we try our best to get him up.
Brad enters my room with a smile and a good morning,
lifting Eddie up for a kiss and cuddle before William’s full
weight crashes down on me. Man, teenagers are good at
acting paralysed.
After a long, hard fought giggle battle…he frees himself
from my headlock. Sitting up he’s puffing hard, his hair
an even bigger mess.