Michael's Story

Michael Stoddart

Michael is one of our amazing members that has taken on the challenge of riding in the Taupo Cycle Challenge in an effort to raise funds for Brain Injury Hawke’s Bay. This is his story ….

Brain injury has impacted significantly on individuals within our family and affected our family as a whole.  I guess you could say we are more ‘brain injury aware’ than the average family.

A member of our family sustained a life changing brain injury seven years ago while training for the very event I am now undertaking, The Taupo Cycle Challenge.  Despite wearing a helmet the effects of this injury have been permanent and severe.  Almost a full year was spent at a specialised Acute Brain Injury unit learning to best deal with the changes following the injury.  Although one of the main symptoms has been memory loss, other effects have been extremely debilitating and affect daily life.  A generalised neural fatigue ensures that lots of sleep and adequate rest are necessary to reduce symptoms. Reduced concentration, intolerance to noise and severe frequent headaches are constant frustrating reminders of his injury.  This has in turn affected energy levels, personal relationships and employment opportunities. 

We are so proud that despite the challenges following his brain injury he lives independently, cares for his children and maintains his sense of humour despite frustrating challenges in his day to day life.

One of our children sustained a number of concussions, the last one playing rugby while at intermediate.  As parents we decided (much to his upset as he loved the game) that rugby was no longer a sport he could pursue due to the potential risk of further head injuries.  Although he was not hospitalised and his injuries were not seen as severe he also developed memory loss, poor concentration, difficulty with loud noises, frequent headaches and mood disturbances.  This has been quite a challenge for our child and our family.  Although thankfully we are now some years down the track and the effects have reduced over time the effects from repetitive concussion were significant and stressful.

It will give me great pleasure to contribute to such a worthwhile cause such as Brain Injury Hawke’s Bay and take this lovely Italian bicycle around the picturesque Lake Taupo for a spin (as was intended 7 years ago).

To donate to this fundraiser click on the link below to head to the Give a Little Page -

Community Collaborator - Sport Hawke's Bay

We are excited to announce our new online project - Community Collaborators!!

Community Collaborators is a new initiative designed to share information with our community and members from organisations that we work closely with. Our organisation is incredibly fortunate to have so many great community collaborators who are also doing great things in Hawke’s Bay and we want to share this with you. Check out our first video below with Katie from Sport Hawke’s Bay.

Vicki catches up with Katie from Sport Hawke's Bay on their latest initiative!

Week Two - Covid 19 Update

To our Community,

Last week all but essential services were asked to close or work from home in a bid to slow the spread of Covid-19 across Aotearoa. We now move into week two and Brain Injury Hawke’s Bay are committed to keeping our clients, members, stakeholders and funders up to date with how we as an organisation are continuing to serve our community.

·         Our Client and Whanau supports remain open; we are not meeting people face to face, but we are utilising all technologies available to us to ensure people are able to communicate with us in a way that they feel comfortable.

·         We are maintaining regular contact with clients and are performing welfare calls where required.

·         We are working with several community groups and the Council as part of a team effort to coordinate the wider community response to Covid-19.

·         We have two online support groups for those with Brain Injury and whanau of those with Brain Injury.

·         Online events are being offered to promote online social connection for our members as a tool to reduce social isolation.

·         Our team are in the process of adding to our online education and awareness content to continue this important work in our online community.

·         All staff are working from home with the support of available technology and can be reached during their normal work hours.

We want to reassure you our organisation is set up in a way that it can continue to provide support to our community, especially those with Brain Injury and their whanau during this time.

Please stay safe, be kind and we wish you all good health.

Hei konā mai

Brett Morris

Chairperson

Brain Injury Hawke’s Bay

The team from Brain Injury HB @ #blackout for Brain Injury 2020

Covid-19 Service Update

To our Community,

The health and well-being of our community is very important to us and due to the current implications of COVID-19 and the government’s recent announcement of a Nationwide Self Isolation our offices will be closed to the public and our staff will be working from home.

We want to reassure our clients, members, stakeholders and funders that our Client and Whanau services remain fully operational and our staff will continue to work from home at the same capacity.

As from today we will not be meeting with people in their homes or the community however we can provide support via phone, email and video/tele conferencing, this is all operational now. There are no changes to how we receive referrals and the time in which we respond to referrals.

Our Board wish to reassure you that our organisation is set up in a way that it can continue to provide support to our community, especially those with Brain Injury and their whanau during this time. We will be proactive in how we engage and communicate with you; our Staff are currently developing new ways you can engage with us and we look forward to sharing these with you.  

Please stay safe, be kind and we wish you all good health.

Hei konā mai

Brett Morris

Chairperson

Brain Injury Hawke’s Bay

Bills perspective ....

I'm Bill Craig I have been a member of the Brain Injury Hawke’s Bay for 20 years. This came about after a fall from a ladder at work. I've been told my head hit the concrete like a melon. With my skull in 13 bits I didn't become conscious for eight days. After two months in ICU and a ward I was sent home to recover.

Bill and Rosa

There have been many support people and specialists that have helped me, particularly during the first year. I had changed in many ways, I knew that I was operating at a lower level and went to my first meeting of the Brain Injury Hawke’s Bay support group not long after it started.  In those days the group ran as a support day once a week. It helped to meet others who were experiencing the same problems, memory loss, fatigue, and headaches, being the main ones. We also had many activities organised, along with morning tea and a midday meal, sometimes a picnic on a day trip in the van. They were fun times but cost a great deal. Funding was always hard.

Having been elected on the Brain Injury Hawke’s Bay board as a client representative, it was easy to see that changes had to be made. Nowadays the remains of the original support group, with some recent additions, meet for lunch once a month to catch up and there is still a Christmas party.  However, the BIA today has a lot more staff who work to help many times the number of people.

Two liaison officers answer clients questions about their injury and provide support with ACC and WINZ meetings, doctors appointments, housing, the concussion clinic and make referrals to other community groups and sports clubs if required. Education is an important focus and the BIA has run several clinics for local health professionals, which I have attended as a panel member. We are also organising a New Zealand Concussion Conference which will be held in Napier later this year - the latest research will be interesting I'm sure.

The education officer is doing her level best to get around all the schools in Hawke’s Bay with the message on preventing and managing concussion, its a big job.  As a reward the pupils have fun meeting  our mascot, the large Newfoundland dog Kiana dressed in the Hawke’s Bay Rugby kit.  The Hawke’s Bay branch has also embraced the Blue Card protocol to help prevent and reduce the effects of concussion in sport.  Most senior school first fifteen players have completed a test, which is used as a baseline if concussion is suspected.

The list goes on, but most important is the help and advice given to the family and caregivers of clients who have suffered Brain Injuries. I have been fortunate that unlike so many, my wife and family have been fantastic - partly due to the education and support they received from the Brain Injury Hawke’s Bay after my injury.  

Since the changes to the Brain Injury Hawke’s Bay it has become obvious that we are now much more well known in the community.  This helps with the many fundraising events such as concerts and dinners the board  arranges.  It also means that we get more referrals.

The picture of me is the front cover of a book I wrote years ago, as part of an ACC programme, which my girls published for me. It is about Rosa, a Welsh Terrier given to me as a rehab dog shortly after leaving  hospital.  Rosa did as much or more to get me out and engaging in the real world as anyone else.  I joined the Hawkes Bay Obedience Club. One of their members taught me to walk instead of stagger when heeling the dog. Later, I had to learn to run when we started doing Agility together.  We eventually made it to the top 10 in New Zealand in a year long monthly agility competition. This was  great effort for a small dog running against the big Dobermans, Shepherd's, and Collies.

So often there is  improvement  from a brain injury, this takes time, patience and support.

Remember there's always someone who is worse off, someone who needs help and advice. Someone who needs a friendly face.  The Brain Injury Hawke’s Bay provides that.

Out and about with Vicki ...

Vicki and the kids from Waimarama School

2020 has got off to a busy start for the Education Service!

We have had a great response from our local schools, with 7 schools booked in for our #ConcussionWise programme so far.

We had a great day out with Safer Hastings at the Maraekakaho School family day last week, we spent the day working in the classrooms presenting #ConcussionWise and the evening chatting to Whanau, it was a great event and we are really happy to be working so closely with Safer Hastings.

We are so excited to be a part of the Road Safe HB Youth Alcohol Expo again this year, we are working with Seth and his family to develop his story, we used Seth’s story in our interviews #ourstory’s last year.

Jill, Seth and Vicki at Radio Kidnappers

We will follow the journey of Seth and his family through the crash that caused his injury and his rehabilitation journey, we are currently working with a designer to put this all together and cannot wait to share the final product with you all!

I hope everyone has had a great start to there year!

Vicki

Keeping up with Katie ...

Kia Ora Koutou.

Katie Hopkins - Liaison Officer

Happy New Year!  Can you believe it’s half way through February already!  The Liaison service re-opened on 13th January after a refreshing summer break.  Referrals were initially quiet but are starting to pick up the pace again.  This year we are running a Napier coffee group, this is a peer support group to be held on the first Wednesday of the month, at 10am.  Please contact me on 8786875 or 0272838896 if you are interested in attending.

I have now been a Liaison Officer with Brain Injury HB for 6 months.  In that time I have been working alongside Debbie in the liaison and whanau services, as well as taking the opportunity to network with other services in the community.  Being relatively new to this field I have also taken the opportunity to participate in learning opportunities.  I am grateful to Brain Injury HB for supporting me in my study towards a Level 4 qualification in Brain Injury Rehabilitation Support. 

The modules I have been working on include understanding the human brain, and service models and approaches to health and well-being.  I’m looking forward to getting involved in Awareness Week for the first time, as well as the Wheels on Windsor fundraiser, the upcoming workshop on Person Centered Practice and Engagement, and of course the Liaison Conference just to name a few!  It’s gearing up to be a busy year, I look forward to meeting more of our members and supporters in 2020.           

Why Volunteering Makes A Difference

Hi, my name is Carolyn Macfarlane, a couple of years ago I went to a Black Barn concert that was a fundraising event for Brain Injury Association Hawke’s Bay. Unfortunately, poor ticket sales were not helped by the bad weather on the night and the fact my friend and I had been given complimentary tickets. Needless to say, the question on the night was if anyone could donate some time to help their marketing even it was for an hour a month so next time they can raise more money. Realising then that I couldn’t donate money at the time but could offer my time I thought it would be a great opportunity to give back to a worthwhile charity and in the long term save them money.

My first task was designing a new website for them to give them a more professional profile and enable them to receive donations from the site. I had a lot of satisfaction completing this project to go live.

I was really delighted when I was told they were being given a sponsorship car for 6 months and they had looked at the website which had helped them seal the deal.

Further to that, I have had the insight into how hard the people at Brain Injury Association Hawke’s Bay work to promote Brain Injury Awareness and just how many cases they are dealing with on a daily basis.

So I have learned that it’s a great feeling to help people in the community that wouldn’t otherwise have the assistance and it is an invaluable experience for me too and would encourage others to get involved too.

Research Opportunity for those involved with Equestrian Sports

An opportunity to participate in research that is looking at the awareness of Concussion in Equestrian Sports. This is being run by AUT with support from ACC and the Equestrian Community. Click on the link to take part – TAKE PART NOW

Checking in with Debbie – our Liaison Officer

Kia ora kotou, What has the Liaison service been up to this month!! It has been a very busy time all round but one of the biggest issues facing people at the moment is securing safe, appropriate and affordable accommodation. We have supported a number of people into emergency housing this winter and it seems […]