Sue has suffered an acute brain injury and requires 24/7 care. Please help this family return to the Waikato. They need your help.
Waikato
This story is about Sue. Sue is 64 and until December 2nd 2017 worked full time as a school librarian and form teacher at Te Puke High School. Sue is Mum to three daughters and Nan to eight grandchildren. Sue has a wonderful and loving nature and she adores her family. She is a fiercely independent woman, headstrong and determined. But to explain Sue’s story I need to begin with Angela.
Angela has been my closest friend for over 20 years. Last October she moved back home to New Zealand with her two youngest children from Melbourne. She is a solo parent and it was a battle getting her back home for a multitude of reasons but her biggest supporters were her parents, Kevin and Sue, who were prepared to move heaven and earth to bring her back to her family where she belonged.
Five weeks after Angela arrived home to Tauranga to begin her new chapter in life Sue collapsed at home, minutes after complaining about extreme head pain. Kevin rushed to her side and had to resuscitate her until paramedics arrived. She was taken to Tauranga hospital where it was discovered she had suffered a very serious brain aneurysm and sub arachnoid haemorrhage. She was then airlifted to Waikato Hospital and went straight into a five-hour surgery. She had a clot in her brain the size of a tennis ball. The surgeons had to perform a craniotomy and remove a piece of her skull. This bone has still not been put back in and will remain out for a few more months in the event of further swelling.
Sue remained in Waikato Hospital for two weeks, was then transferred back to Tauranga and then was accepted as a patient at the Acute Brain Injury (ABI) Rehab Unit in Ranui, Auckland. There she was expected to receive the best possible treatment that would provide her with the most optimal outcome for rehabilitation possible.
Unfortunately, and for anyone who knows the effects a brain injury can have on one’s personality, Sue did not (as still does not) understand what has happened to her. She lacks the insight to properly comprehend the seriousness of her injury and in many ways believes she is fine. ABI do not have the rights to keep a patient in care against their wishes, and Sue did not wish to remain there.
Sues decision to go home after three weeks at ABI devastated the whole family. Kevin and Angela were now faced with having to care for Sue in the home, which was a terrifying thought as even the doctors confirmed that she is high risk and would need to be watched around the clock. One false move; one fall and she could die.
Consequently, Sue no longer has a job, Kevin has had to drop to part time and Angela is home full time to care for Sue, which has meant a huge reduction in finances. Living expenses however, do not come to a halt and this beautiful family are struggling week to week to make ends meet. Furthermore, the strain of having Sue back at home has taken a huge emotional toll on everyone, in particular Angelas children who are currently living in an environment where typical child like activities are just not possible due to time restrictions, and Sue requiring a mostly peaceful atmosphere in which to recuperate, without the hustle and bustle that comes along with active children!
Recently Angela and Kevin made a huge decision to relocate from the Bay of Plenty to the Waikato, as they are aware it is much less expensive to live there. Secondly, Waikato offers more expansive resources to help with Sue’s rehabilitation. Finally, all five of them have a much bigger support network here that are already waiting with arms open to wrap around them all.
I am writing this story to ask the generous people of New Zealand and beyond if they will stand behind me in helping this wonderful family achieve this necessary goal of moving back to the Waikato, and to assist with the hefty costs that this involves. They are wanting to find two new homes, one for Kevin and Sue, and the other for Angela and her children – so that they can regain some normality back in their lives, and continue to care for Sue in a space where there is not only more medical care and therapy but also a support network for everyone.
I am best friend to Angela and have been a friend of the family for most of my life. I want to do this to help them back home where they have the love and support they need.
The majority, if not all the raised funds will help fund moving costs back to the Waikato. They will need to find two homes plus purchase furniture and household items for one of these homes.
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