SNN_December_2023

NEW ZEALAND SPINAL TRUST 20
Terry says it made a huge difference that the person
calling last year was someone he knew and respected.
“Yeah, I would say that the call from Henry changed my
life,” he says. “It was so good to know that someone cared,
and they were interested in how I was doing.”
Terry says the connection was everything to him and he
appreciated his mate’s patience. “Henry knows that a
journey with a spinal injury is complex and full of ups and
downs,” he says.“He just let me make my own decisions
about what I wanted to do and if I wanted to catch up for a
coffee or whatever.”
Problem after problem
When he looks back now, Terry can’t believe he was at
home for five years without social connection. Problems
snowballed for him, and he could not get on top of some
pressure injuries which were hugely debilitating.
“I would have to spend a lot of time in bed and before I knew
it was going from one problem to the next and time just
went on,” he says. “As you get older you find you have more
complications with your body and your body takes longer to
heal which is a huge challenge and very frustrating.”
Terry was living in constant pain. He was miserable. “I
was basically depressed because I felt like there was
nothing to really live for.” Terry says he would see his
nurses and his carers on a daily basis but outside of that,
his interactions with the outside world was zero.
For around five months (2018–2019), Terry was in
constant pain. He was admitted to St John of God for
eight weeks, but he wasn’t making progress. “I was lucky
that one of the surgeons looking after me in Palmerston
North Hospital wrote to Dr Raj at the Burwood Spinal Unit
with daily photos and it was he who arranged for me to
have plastic surgery.”
He was admitted to Burwood in an effort to get on top of
his pressure injuries. The sores were on his left buttock,
and they took a skin graft from his thigh to fix it. He was
discharged to go home in December 2019. “There is a lot
that they did for me and I’m forever grateful.”
Meanwhile ACC announced they were investing into a
two-year pilot for Peer and Whānau Support across
Aotearoa. The Peer and Whānau programme extended
across 18 regions from the far north (Whangārei) to the
deep south (Invercargill). It included up to 50 community
peer support staff employed on a casual basis.
Be brave and step outside
of your comfort zone.
—Terry Fage
HOPE—Terry’s eyes light up when he talks about getting behind the wheel of his new adapted van. He will be free. Credit: Graeme Brown.