Justin McArthur - Getting Better Slowly.

Our Roasting Manager, Justin McArthur, has been with Coffee Supreme for over 16 years and is our longest serving staff member in NZ. He is well known and respected in the coffee industry both here and abroad, and has played a sizeable (and mostly behind the scenes) role in shaping the standard of the industry in NZ.

In November 2014 Justin was rushed to hospital after waking early in the morning with full body paralysis. He has been under the weather with what he had jokingly described as, “death flu”, when his illness took a turn. As his auto immune system fought off the virus it then continued to attack his nervous system.

He was admitted to hospital just as his breathing was affected. Medical staff were able to immediately put him on assisted breathing which saved his life. He was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome.

Guillain-Barré Syndrome is a disorder in which the body's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system. The first symptoms of this disorder include varying degrees of weakness or tingling sensations in the legs. These symptoms can increase in intensity until person is almost totally paralyzed – this is what happened in Justin’s case. The disorder is life threatening - potentially interfering with breathing and is considered a medical emergency. Most individuals do recover from even the most severe cases of GBS, although some continue to have a certain degree of weakness. It can strike at any age and both sexes are equally prone to the disorder. The syndrome is rare, however, afflicting only about one person in 100,000.

Justin is in Intensive Care in Wellington Hospital and receiving outstanding care. At day 77 he is still paralysed with only limited movement in his neck, face and shoulders. He can communicate through a basic letter chart and is making progress everyday, but has lost almost a quarter of his body weight and will have a long road of recovery and rehabilitation ahead of him.

Bria, Justin's partner and amazing mum to Johnny (7) and Alby (2), is tirelessly orchestrating visits from family, friends and colleagues, and driving in from Plimmerton each day to visit Justin in ICU.

Our aim is raise enough money to take Justin’s mind off his family’s wellbeing and focus solely on his recovery. Funds will go towards covering loss of income, general expenses for the family and Justin’s rehabilitation.