Headstart NewsLink Dec 2021

Volume 27 Issue 2 Dec 2021

We bring you more of

Y ur St ries

Rob looks on the bright side Pg 10

Wishing you a very

Merry Christmas!

All about Hunter Brain Injury Service Meet Sharon Lawrence, Service Manager, Pg 6

NewsLink Dec 2021 I Page 1

The Headstart Acquired Brain Injury Services commenced in 1987 and is recognised as a premier provider of specialist services for people with an ABI in the Hunter and Central Coast region.

Headstart provides individually tailored services across community access, in home support, life skills, social, leisure and recreational services, case co-ordination, and community information and education.

95 Turnbull Street, Hamilton NSW 2303 P 02 4965 4420 F 02 4965 4424 E info@headstart-abi.com.au W www.headstart-abi.com.au

ABN 75057986026 I CFN 13046 Headstart ABI Services is a registered provider under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

Our Vision For people living with brain injury to have opportunities that strengthen and enrich their lives.

Our Purpose To make a difference in the lives of people touched by brain injury by providing opportunities and inspiring hope.

Leadership Executive Director: Manager Service and Supports: Finance Manager:

HR Lead: Quality Lead: Office Administration: Marketing Lead:

Sue McHattie Kesley Skippen Therese Paksi Kathryn Fitzgerald Bronwyn Doherty Kathy Provost Andy Meier

Now you can read NewsLink online with Issuu! If you aren’t on our email list then let us know.

What stories or information would you like to see in future NewsLinks?

Do you have some great stories or photos? We’d love to hear from you!

Email Andy at our office: comms@headstart-abi.com.au

From the ED’s Desk

A

s the year draw to a close, on behalf of the Board and all the staff I want to wish everyone a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a truly happy and healthy New Year for 2022.

2021 has been a year of ups and downs, especially in continuing to navigate the COVID situation.

Thank you for working with us as we’ve done our best to be flexible given the changing situation. An example of this flexibility - and creativity - can be seen in the photo below where CoWorker Beth went to meet with Consumer Craig to review his Service Agreement. At the time Craig was enjoying a golf game with his support worker, and he took a break to meet with Beth. Sometimes you’ve just got to go with the flow, right?

So wherever Christmas takes you this year, we trust that it will be a time of festivity, fun and peace. If it is a time that leaves you alone and needing encouragement please reach out to those around you. Samaritan’s are running some wonderful free picnic lunches at Newcastle Foreshore and Singleton Showground on Christmas day (see Pg 5).

In this edition we take a close look at the work of Hunter Brain Injury Service in Darby street. Some of the stories featured in this edition feature consumers who spent weeks or months doing intensive therapy at HBIS (Stephen Pg 13 and Phil Pg 20).

Our fitness instructor come Rec Co-ordinator Nikki explains how we can all get a little bit fitter, and how it’s a case of ‘use it or lose it’ when it comes to physical health. This advice could be helpful when it comes dealing with those extra Christmas calories! (see page 24 for more).

With 2022 around the corner we look forward to a successful and safe year for everyone.

Merry Christmas, Sue

Nominate a staff member for outstanding achievement We continue to recognise the work of our staff who have gone above and beyond in any capacity to support our consumers in their daily lives.

Please help us thank and encourage our workers!

To make a nomination please contact us or email: info@headstart.com.au Have you checked us out on Facebook recently?

Catch all the latest news, stories and rec activities.

CoWorker Beth has a first meeting with consumer Craig.

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Pg 4

Christmas Capers

Pg 6

Hunter Brain Injury Service

Pg 24

COVID Update Now that the weather is getting warmer and more people are venturing outdoors, Headstart would like to remind all consumers, families and staff to continue to ensure that you follow covid safe procedures when out in the community.

For fully vaccinated consumers, please remember that you also need to have your vaccination certificate available to be able to enter certain places, such as cafes, movie theatres and certain shops. If you have a Smartphone you can have your vaccination certificate linked to your Services NSW app, which you use when scanning a QR code to check-in at a venue. This is the quickest and easiest way to show you have checked-in and are fully vaccinated.

If you don’t have a Smartphone then you will need to have a printed copy of your vaccination certificate.

If you need assistance with either linking your vaccination certificate on your phone or arranging a printed copy please contact your Co-worker who will be able to assist you.

This information is relevant as at 18th November, further changes to the Public Health Order are due to be announced by the Government on 15th December 2021.

Pg 26

Rec Roundup

Our CET raps up

Going out in the community:

• Wash your hands regularly • Use sanitizer • Make sure you have a mask with you for indoor activities/venues

The New Fit

Watch the video: scan QR code with a smartphone camera or visit the web page vimeo.com/638913724

H

eadstart's Community Education Team (CET) are a pinnacle of our organisation. After the recent COVID outbreak we wanted to keep all of our presenters connected and so we started having Zoom calls. We decided we wanted to do something together during lockdown that would continue to increase awareness and prevent ABI in the community. While the topic is serious they are a friendly bunch always up for a laugh, as you’ll see if you check out the video. It was heaps of fun... even our CEO got into the groove!

- Jon (CET Coordinator) We tell our story all about how our life got flipped-turned upside down and we aim to tell people because we care we don't want this to happen to you and that's why we share.

Prevention and awareness is what we raise brain injury rates are what we want to change talking to adults and students in school it's so important to follow road rules.

So our experiences can do some good if I could change what happened to me I would one split second changed so many lives we do this in hopes we are saving lives.

When I first spoke I had to overcome my fear but now I've made friends who also volunteer it's great to meet others that also care meet the CET team pull up a chair.

I now look forward to presenting with my mates I'm not giving up, my life is getting better.

I represent Headstart, my story is what I share I'll be at the next event I hope to see you there!

A gesture of thanks from Rod Rodney hand painted a bamboo plate for his Aboriginal Health Coordinator at Yerin where Rod attends the men’s programs. Rod painted this as a thank you gift for his support and taking him under his wing.

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What’s up for Christmas?

Ken

Phil

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions because I break ‘em! Pass on the resolutions for me!

New Year’s eve is a chance to meet up with people you haven’t seen for a while, get together and ‘partay’!

“C

hristmas means a chance to see my family, because with COVID I couldn’t see them. I’ve got a brother in Sydney, a sister up in Queensland and I’m looking forward to seeing them. So to me it’s all about family. My sister in law also cooks a mean meal for lunch. Doesn’t help my weight much though!

I only see my cousins a couple of times a year, can’t explain why they like me, but that’s all good.

I go to the club and sit by myself and everyone comes to sit around me, which I like ‘cos my seat is close to the bar. That works well for getting drinks and seeing who comes in the front door, and you can see the TV screen, the raffle screen and the bar is right behind me. You beauty!

I’m really looking forward to going out without a mask and talking to people. Finding out what’s happening. Because when you wear a mask you can’t see people’s emotions or reactions. Being double vaxed I’m happy not to have to wear a mask everywhere!”

“W

e’ll spend Christmas day at home. My husband and son love fishing, so soon after we’ll head up to Harrington on the coast for a week.

As I recover from my stroke we’ve been going there for the last couple of years. I love just sitting on the rocks relaxing and watching them fish.

One of my goals for the New Year is that I’d love to jog again! I’m hoping to work towards that, even if it’s a slow shuffle, a bit like Cliff Young who was a marathon runner who was famous for his shuffle.”

Tracy, Stephen & Family “W

e might spend Christmas here at home and then go away for a few days, it all depends what COVID’s doing really. We’ll likely go and see family on the northern beaches of Sydney.

Our kids love Christmas, not sure if our youngest Patrick - who is ten - still believes in Santa Claus anymore. It’s a little bit sad when that happens, but anyway!”

Leonie

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“C

hristmas is great because it’s a time where a lot of us get together, maybe go on holidays or at least just not be working. It’s an excuse to get together and have a lovely time.

Christmas of course is a time for families. We don’t have kids and we don’t really go away on holidays, so we tend to like staying around home with friends and that’s the beauty of Christmas. I also meet up with my brother and sister and their kids, same with my wife’s family.

Almost every birthday and Christmas I still get a new Lego kit. I’m crazy like that! There’s still a boy in me that finds Lego lots of fun. My vision isn’t great but I can see well enough to build them. Like almost everything, I can do it, but I just do it slower. There’s no rush though with Lego.

A New Year’s resolution that we’ve stuck with for a while is to spend new years at an old friend’s house at Dungog, watch the celebrations on the television, chit chat, drink wine and enjoy ourselves. We tend to do that every year.

I plan to talk to Headstart in the new year about the possibility of finding some sort of employment. Not necessarily paid (even though paid is good!) but possibly volunteering.”

Freeze it!

Samaritans Christmas Lunch

Frozen Christmas lunch could even be an option... or else a good idea for all of those yummy leftovers!

2021

No plans for

Christmas Day? Celebrate with the help of Samaritans!

Newcastle

CHRISTMAS PICNIC IN THE PARK Newcastle Foreshore Park 25 December from 11am

Singleton

CHRISTMAS PICNIC LUNCH SINGELTON SHOWGROUND 25 December 11am-1pm

Pre-cooking meals with Deb. One of our support workers helps to divide it into containers to freeze.

“Deb here has made 8 meals to have on days when she doesn’t feel like cooking.”

For fun, food & gifts for all ages, just turn up on the day. You can enjoy your free Picnic Lunch with Samaritans or take it away to a location of your choice.

Support worker Keryn: “Neil and I cooked this Yellow Vegetable Curry with Basmati rice together. Neil prepped the veggies and gave me directions around cooking. He froze leftovers so he can enjoy his cooking another day. Neil’s son usually joins in to cook as well. Last week Neil, his son and I cooked fresh Mussels in tomato, white wine and chilli sauce. Neil loves his food! Each shift Neil picks a recipe to cook the following week.“

Dan at Bar Beach checking out an amazing KTM motorbike.

A COVIDSafe community event

I told him we’d send it in for the Headstart mag he liked that idea!

- CSW Stefan NewsLink Dec 2021 I Page 5

Hunter Brain Injury Service is right in the heart of Newcastle, on Darby Street. With many Headstart consumers passing through it’s doors we recently met up with Sharon Lawrence, Service Manager.

A service with a smile What brought you to this role Sharon?

“I

’ve worked for Hunter New England Health as a dietitian for 26 years. Most of my time I have worked in the community and aged care space. So this has been a huge learning curve working with people who have acquired a brain injury. I’ve now been in this role for 12 months managing the Hunter Brain Injury team to support clients.

So many of your staff have been here a long time?

Some of the clinicians have spent the majority of their career here at Hunter Brain Injury and their skill level and knowledge of brain injury is unbelievable! The allied health staff are classified as senior specialist clinicians due to their level of clinical skill and knowledge. They are always undertaking professional development, upskilling and sharing their knowledge with one another as well as other health staff outside of the service.

Can you tell us a little bit about the history and origins of the service?

Across New South Wales there are 15 specialized brain injury services, this being one of them. The funding across NSW originally came through the then Motor Accident Authority, supporting

specialized brain injury services and in particular the rehabilitation units.

Seven of them have a transitional living unit. Hunter New England has two units, one here and the other in Tamworth. This transitional living unit was opened 30 years ago.

Our catchment area is quite large. We support all of the Hunter Valley, the Central Coast, and the greater Taree area and because we have a transition living unit we often have clients that stay here from outside those area, such as Port Macquarie or Forbes.

So how do things work here?

There’s a couple of different pathways for clients who have experienced a brain injury. A client may start their journey at John Hunter Hospital, or one of the larger hospitals in Sydney, such as Royal Rehab in Ryde. Most of our referrals come from those hospitals or from the Rankin Park Rehabilitation Centre which is the public rehabilitation hospital located on the John Hunter Campus. Hunter Brain Injury Service is the next step in that rehab journey.

area, capacity to participate in rehabilitation and what are the rehab goals for the client. After this, one of our allied health staff arrange an initial appointment to explore their needs a little bit more and to work out how our team can best support the client and their family or supports.

From there, a Case Manager is assigned who works with the client and their supports to identify which rehabilitation pathway is going to be best for them, that is either coming to stay in the transitional living unit for intense therapy support or going through our community stream where the client is living at home but they come in as an outpatient for therapy.

Really, everybody is different and it just depends on their individual needs and circumstances. So clients who come to the service are given an option and actively participate in the decisions about their rehabilitation, their goals and their therapy.

So you could say the service we provide is consumer or ‘client directed’.

When we receive a referral the team review it to ensure the client meets Consumer or client direct care is the statewide criteria for brain injury services such evidence of a brain injury, where a client who has experienced a brain injury is given choice and control age, do they live in the catchment NewsLink Dec 2021 I Page 6

about the way their rehabilitation and care is delivered by the team. We are there to help and inform the client with their decisions and to provide the therapy they require to meet their rehabilitation goals. Our team just doesn’t focus on the brain injury.

We also focus on the person, their strengths and the world around them, because we need them to go back to their community and life.

personal needs such as doing their own laundry with the assistance of our team members and helping out with other common tasks such as attending to the vegetable garden or watering the plants, feeding the fish or taking out the garbage and compost.

still require a health clinician to provide case management, we can continue to support the client through their journey. We’ve got clients on our books that have been here for two to three years. So it just doesn’t stop once the leave our transitional living unit.

We help our clients reintegrate back Do you have much of a waiting list? into everyday life. We try and make this Not at the moment and we can be place feel like a home so it’s easier to flexible in how we deliver care. If transition back to home, work or study. our transitional living unit is full, for If a client comes to stay here in the They can have downtime and rest in example, and there is somebody ready transitional living unit they arrive their room or watch TV, listen to music to come from Rankin Park or John Monday lunchtime and participate in or read a book. Families and visitors Hunter, we can put some services in scheduled appointments or therapy are welcome to come in from five to place to support a client at home until sessions during the whole week. This nine o’clock every afternoon. Clients we have a bed available. It may be is where they live for the week and can go out with their family or visitors that we do some intense work in the they go home on a Friday afternoon, and have a meal or go for a walk. We community with them, and then bring returning the following Monday. recognize it’s not just the client who them in when we have a bed available.

It’s important they have family or has experienced the brain injury, it What sort of brain injuries do you see? somebody to stay with over the affects families, friends and colleagues weekends to care for them and to who are known to the client. So we like It’s a variety, from motor accidents - so help them practice the skills they have to engage those who are important to car, bike, truck - to cycling accidents. learnt during the week.

We also see brain injuries associated the client as much as possible in the with falls, assaults, self-inflicted, and What therapies do people receive? care we provide. those who have acquired a brain injury Clients have a minimum of five hours of How many people do you help at any due to neurosurgery complications or scheduled therapy each day when they given time? brain hemorrhages. stay in the transitional living unit. The We have up to five clients staying here Our our age group is from 16 to 65. therapies offered could be across the in the transition unit at any one time.

Saying that, if a 16 year old was still whole team, including physiotherapy, But that doesn’t just limit our caseload in school, they would stay with the occupational therapy, speech to five because we also have just over paediatric team. And if they’re - for pathology, social work, dietetics, 100 clients out in the community that example - 65 years old and they’re still psychology and neuropsychology. we support as well. We support both actively engaged in work and are likely Rehabilitation assistants are also compensable and non-compensable to return to that workspace, we will still available to help them too. clients who have experienced a brain accept them.

When a client is not in their therapy injury. We have strong links with session, they have the opportunity to iCare and NDIS as well as many other Our ultimate goal is returning participate in other social or leisure insurance agencies. a client back to their preactivities such as art group, gardening, Our clinicians are also able to offer case injury work or study where mindfulness, playing pool or the Wii management and some are endorsed possible, or working with them and so on. During the stay, they also by icare. It could be when a client engage in planning and preparing their finishes their therapy with us but they to seek suitable alternatives. own meals, attending to their own NewsLink Dec 2021 I Page 7

Hunter Brain Injury Service

How often do you achieve that goal? we’ve still helped achieve the client’s goals. The feeling is overwhelming Our service has very strong to be able to do that! If our clients outcomes when it comes to are happy to, we also help them write linking our clients with Disability their story to place on our storyboard Employment Services and / or wall. Other clients and visitors read returning them back to their usual these stories which can be really work place. We are very proud of that helpful for clients just beginning their as well as the physical, functional and recovery journey. psychosocial gains our client achieve.

How do you work with the extended How long do people spend here? family of the clients?

We’ve currently got two clients The client’s family network is really who are only here for two weeks, important to us. Our care is not whereas we’ve got other clients just for the client, but also for the who have been here for up to three healing of the family and other people months. It really just depends on important to the client. It’s traumatic what their individual needs are. So to see changes in somebody it’s variable. Our ultimate aim is to whether that’s behavioral, physical have that person back, living in their or functional changes. It’s like a grief own home with their own family with and loss process that we need to their own supports. So we work very support in the families, friends, and closely with care workers and care significant others, because they also attendants and insurance companies need to learn and feel comfortable to ensure this happens. with managing new situation and We also support public clients as feelings the person with a brain injury well, for example those who’ve had is experiencing and vice versa. a stroke, and may not be covered by How do you work with other any insurance. They still get exactly disability services, like Headstart? the same service it’s no different. We don’t treat people differently based Very early in the journey we start on their compensable status. to understand what the client is wanting to achieve and what help and Have you seen amazing recoveries? support they may need. It can be very Oh yes, I sure have! I’ve seen clients daunting for a client or their family to come through door with dysphasia know what’s out there. So we begin - so trouble speaking - and deficits those conversations early, whether with their mobility. In some cases it’s it’s with Headstart or another been a really quick recovery, others organisation. We might have a client have taken longer, but to see them who really just wants to get back to leave and ring the bell, that’s on wall knitting, and so our staff search for outside pulls on the heartstrings. those groups or connections for the client. We aim to introduce them You can feel the sense of whilst they are here with our service achievement for the client and even so that it’s easier when they leave. for our staff who can say “Hey, look It’s a natural hand holding process where we’ve got them!” It may not be the complete pre-injury state, but and moving people through.

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I was welling up with tears when they were ringing that bell because you could just feel the sense of achievement within the client. That bell on the wall represents the end of the rehab journey as they leave our unit.

- Sharon, Service Manager

Memory lane: a Pat on the back Pat has been doing support work with Headstart for so many years that she calls herself “the original” CSW. We want to acknowledge and thank Pat for her tireless and terrific work!

“S

tarting at Headstart as a volunteer over 30 years ago was a daunting experience, but also a very rewarding one. There was no paid staff only volunteers as we were not funded until many years later. Volunteers had extensive training before working with consumers. Over the years I have seen many changes especially now that the NDIS is involved.

In the beginning we all worked together as one. Volunteers and consumers united together with lots of activities such as crafts, gardens and our

Last Chance Theatre Company as well as TAFE Computer and Mechanics courses. All this while we were moved from place to place until we acquired our home / office as it is now.

Running and coordinating the Women’s group for over 30 years was a wonderful experience for me. As was coordinating Tom and John’s Circles, an initiative that brought together family and friends to help set and achieve consumers goals.”

Pat

Sue

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“I have seen so many positive changes in the consumers and I guess knowing that I was part of that process is heartening.” - Pat

Day by day “I don’t make many plans, just take each day as it comes,” says Rob as he shares some of his journey.

M

y brain injury was in 2002. It happened when I was in jail for some unpaid fines and silly things I did when I was drunk. I was pretty much an alcoholic back then. I was still young and had a lot to learn.

All I can remember was being in the shower and I went black. I woke up in hospital and asked the nurse “why am I here?” and she told me I’d had a brain injury. I really can’t remember anything but I do know who hit me. He was a very big bloke. Hit me about twenty times. He’s in jail for life.

I had lots of broken bones and the doctors had to put me into a coma for nine months just to repair me.

I really just thought I’d try karate for a couple of months. I first went to learn to defend myself but over the years it became one of my main hobbies. I said to the instructor Peter “I like it, I want to do it.”

At one stage I came with a walker and even had a trouble getting in the door.

But I came a long way since then. I did karate for about 16 years and even got my black belt. My mother knew about it, but she never told me! She was there when they gave it to me.

Rob is a science fiction fan.

I used to do karate every Thursday. I walked there, sometimes walked back.

Coming back home though, it was a bit too much so I’d sit down a give myself five minutes then walk again. When I got home I was tired and sore so I found a shortcut which helped. I’ve now stopped doing karate.

Lately I enjoy golf. I’ve been going to the golf range and next year I want to go the golf course. I go with my support worker Ryan who plays golf with me on Monday’s.

On Wednesday’s I normally go to JB HiFi with support worker Brett. If I’ve got any money I’ll buy something, otherwise we just go have a look around. Sometimes you can get DVD’s really cheap at JB HiFi, like A Clockwork Orange. My favourite movies are the Star Wars movies – all of them!

After that I got off the booze and cigarettes for 15 years. I’ll never smoke marijuana again, there’s too many bad sides to it.

For recovery I was in a walking frame for about ten years, even while doing my karate. Then I started walking on my own and I was doing allright. But after a few falls I’ve now got a walking stick that I use.

Then we’ll go and have something to eat and then Brett drives me home.

Sometimes we might go to a park for a smoke or the beach. It’s good out at Nobbys Beach! The support workers are like mates to me. Otherwise I like to just stick to myself.

I don’t get any headaches and the only physical pain I get is in my left knee if I walk too much.

I live in a group home and have been here for eighteen years. I’ve had three housemates over that time.

I was in tears, so surprised. I was really taken aback to be awarded a black belt. I didn’t think I was that good!

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TV news story from 2017 as Rob is awarded his karate black belt!

His proud mum came along too.

Rob loves to get out to Rec events.

Let’s get to know Rob...

Favorite food: Chinese.

Over the years I’ve had lots of support workers – Sue, Kesley, Cheryl. I really like my support workers.

I do like to get out even though I’m a really quiet bloke when I get talking to my support workers I can’t stop. I bottle it up you see.

I’m very honest with people. As a kid I copped so much discipline from my father for lying that I’m not going to lie like that again, not ever. So I’ll just tell you the truth, whether I offend you or not, the point is I’m always honest.

Headstart began supporting me in 2003, very soon after my assault. I used to do a lot of things, like Rec – ten pin bowling, going to the reptile park, visiting quite a few places. I saw a Dingo at the park, I really like dingoes.

I also like dogs, they’re loyal dogs… and I love cats. Tasmanian Devils too, I like them!

Something I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid is skydiving. I want to jump out of a plane! It’s not cheap so I’ll have to plan financially for it.

The CSW’s are trying to help me find somewhere cheap to skydive.

I like Star Wars, science fiction, Doctor Who, Star Trek. I’d actually like to go up to space! People say of you went up to space you’d want to come straight back down. I say “no man, bugger the earth, I want to stay up here in space, I’ll live up here.”

For Christmas I usually go to Richard, my brother in laws parents house for a nice Christmas dinner over in Seahampton. I see my nieces and nephews and give them some presents or some money. It’s normally a good day, yeah.

I was just talking to my occupational therapist today. I want to learn how to walk properly.

I want to be able to walk without using a walking stick or frame. That’d be good.

That’s my goal for the new year.

Favourite Movie: Any of the Star Wars movies.

Favourite music: I like all sorts of music, except for rap music. I do like Metallica.

Sports/team: Parramatta Cartoon character: Wile E. Coyote… but he never gets the Road Runner hey!?

Hobbies: I like watching TV, listening to music, reading books.

Plenty of books there… I could start a library!

Favourite place on earth? I’d like to go to Stonehenge, never been there.

If I could be an animal: A lion.

Meet someone famous: Marilyn Monroe, but she’s gone so these days Mylie Cyrus.

What's the silliest thing you’ve ever done? Probably pissing on a cop car which got me into jail.

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Telling it like it is Renai is a member of our Community Education Team (CET). She shares candidly with us much of what she shares in her presentations about life after ABI. Tell us about the incident that lead to your brain injury?

I

was 17 going on 18 and in the prime of my life, ready to go out and enjoy my life. I was going away for a weekend with my boyfriend at the time and we had both had too much to drink. The decision we made then was that the one who had drank the least amount of alcohol would drive. So now I am sorry we did that in such a way because we had a car accident and hit what I am assuming was a tree. I got the raw end of this and now live my life with brain damage twenty four hours a day. I had to learn to live my life all over again. I found myself recovering in ward 24B of Lidcombe hospital. I don’t remember much about my accident – just that it happened. Anything to do with my childhood is now a complete blank because of it, including my schooling.

How does your ABI impact your daily life?

My acquired brain injury impacts my daily life, making it harder to live due to being in pain constantly. My memory bank is out of wack, and I often can hardly remember what I am supposed to be doing that day. For example, last week I walked back and forth four or five times in my house just trying to remember what I went inside for. I wish my brain injury never happened because it is thoroughly annoying living this way, I would much rather be out earning a living and being able to work to earn a decent wage rather than a small amount of money each fortnight on the pension as feeding a family isn’t easy. I had my son after my injury.

I have been engaged twice and married once after my accident. My son now has a son of his own, making me a grandmother. I am no longer with my husband. Being a mother was difficult with only the use of one side of my body that is able to be used because of the way my brain was affected. My brain damage gives me constant headaches every day. Just remembering what I have to do on that is hard enough. My brain isn’t equipped enough to tell me what to do every day, so I am likely to do something the complete opposite to what I was originally doing. Sometimes my brain doesn’t think straight.

What rehabilitation have you required?

The doctors and nurses in the hospital where I was helped me to do a lot of the things. They helped me walk, talk, cook and read. I had to learn how to walk and talk again. Before my accident I was shy as anything. After my accident I became really outgoing and so I talk to anyone and everyone, and it didn’t bother me in the least - whereas this may not be the best thing, as strangers can take you for granted in this position.

What are your goals and plans for the future?

Winning the lotto (ha ha ha!) and getting more money to survive. I have a dream to buy a house on the beach again as my first house I bought was at Redhead on the bluff before I sold it and now living on such a busy road I miss living at the beach. If COVID goes away one day I’ll plan to see my grandson again, but he would have to fly to me as I hate flying.

What advice would you give young people about their future? (A question addressed to attendees of our CET talks, often road traffic offenders or sometimes schools.)

Live your future healthy and wise! And think about what you’re going to do before you do it and make a fool of yourself while doing it. Don’t drink and drive, drinking fruit juice is much better before you go out and if you have to drive a car. Drive safely and short and sweet.

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I’ve been part of the CET for a few years now.

It gets me out of the house and I can help other people. There’s a lot of people who go there.

What doe you like about your supports with Headstart?

Tuesdays and Saturday’s with Shane are great because he makes me laugh. Yeah, we get along really well and fortunately he is my new ‘fix it man’.

I have fun with all of the support workers. You’ve got to have a sense of humour at my age! I’ve been with Headstart from the beginning, 1987. Pat (see page 9) was supporting me from the word go. She still supports me on a Monday. Pat’s just come back from holidays... she missed me and I missed her!

Without Headstart I’d probably be lying around more and I’d probably be sleeping more. Some mornings the CSW’s come out and they help me with mopping the floor and vacuuming.

I like to go shopping. I’m a shopaholic, that’s the unfortunate part about it. I love shopping but I hate walking. It’s agonizing pain when I walk you see. But thankfully I can think all right.

I love having a spa because it gets rid of all the aches and pains. Down at the hydro pool, usually.

Shane’s got his hands full, dealing with endless odd jobs at Renai’s home... as well as her wicked sense of humour!

If you don’t laugh about life then what’s the use of living it?

It takes two to tango!

It has been such an honour getting to know Renai over the last year. Since day dot Renai has gotten me into fits of laughter on shift with her wicked sense of humour. Renai’s ability to find the joy and humour in every situation is so refreshing to be around and I cherish the moments I get to see her push herself through the pain, or the days where motivation is running low. It has been so inspiring to watch Renai on her journey and to be a part of her team. She is an incredibly strong and independent woman and that shines through in every way. I look forward to every shift with Renai and am always surprised she can still manage to give me a belly ache from laughing so hard. Cheers Renai, you little legend!

Lucy (CSW): “This is me and Renai mucking around haha :) she’s got the best sense - Lucy (Support Worker) of humour and makes me laugh from the start of my shift to the end!”

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Good things take time!

It was January (nearly a year ago now) that construction began on Headstart’s garden bed, under the direction of Ben (see Facebook post below). It wasn’t until November that the planting process took place, thanks to Nikki’s supervision... and plenty of willing hands. How good to have our own herb and vege garden!

So far there’s tomatoes, chilli, chives, mint, parsley, coriander and oregano. Good things do take time, right? Well done to all.

Gardening is good for you Planting flowers and vegetables can reap bountiful bouquets and delicious harvests for your dining table.

But did you know that gardening can also do wonders for your general well-being?

Self-esteem - It always feels good to accomplish new tasks if you don’t generally grow things... it might even help you to be a little more in tune with the earth.

Exercise – physical activity improves your endurance, strength, mobility and flexibility. Be careful to work within your limits of course, as it can be hard work to garden and so it does have cardiovascular benefits. Gardening also will increase your hand strength. What a great way to keep your hands and fingers as strong as possible for as long as possible.

Relaxation – helps you relax and reduce stress levels.

Gardening can even help reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Enjoyment – from the physical activity. In fact, inhaling Mycobacterium vaccae, a healthy bacteria that lives in soil, can increase levels of serotonin which reduces anxiety. Being in the sun also provide a healthy dose of vitamin D which increases your calcium levels and benefits your bones and immune system. Just don’t forget your sunscreen.

Socialising - it can be a solo activity or an opportunity for bonding with your family and friends. The happiness and stress relief that gardening provides is a great thing to share with friends, loved ones and especially kids.

Fresh food – provides you and your family with a healthy source of inexpensive fresh food that hasn’t been treated with pesticides. Sounds great doesn’t it?

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Way to go!

Denman is 133km from the Headstart offices in Hamilton A stroke brought on Stephen’s aphasia, so communication isn’t easy for him. His wife Tracy recounts much of their remarkable journey together.

“W

e moved up here from Sydney in 2001, just a year after we were married. Stephen was seconded to a new role up with BHP Billiton at the Mount Arthur coal mine while I worked at Rousemount Laboratory, testing wine. Our kids were born five years later and are now nine and fifteen.” says Tracy. “Our youngest was a toddler and I came home one day to home to find Patrick wandering around the house going “daddy, daddy’. Stephen was lying partially under the bed and wasn’t moving. It became obvious to me that he’d had a stroke.”

We’re going to take out part of his skull.”

His brain was swelling too much. He then spent four weeks in intensive care and a week later they found two blood clots in his leg. So on Father’s day also his birthday - we all sat around his bed with a priest because they told us he had a less than 50/50 chance of surviving. I think the doctor wanted me to say “let him go”. I said “No, I keep him alive.” The doctor responded “Tracy, he’s got very little brain left and he’s not going to be the same man.”

Ten weeks after his stroke Stephen went to rehab at Rankin Park and he spent four months there. “I wasn’t going to give up on Stephen. This is sort of thing that makes or breaks a couple or family and you have to choose to do the hard work, and that’s It took 20 minutes for an ambulance to what we did. arrive from Muswellbrook, triggering Stephen wasn’t motivated initially for an unfortunate chain of events. “The rehab. That’s the thing. It’s hard to be paramedic was initially unconvinced motivated when you’ve lost so much that Stephen had suffered a stroke”, of yourself. Stephen went from this says Tracy. “Instead of calling a helicopter and straight to John Hunter, brilliant civil engineer and he was so well respected by everyone because they drove us in an ambulance to he had so much knowledge and he Muswellbrook hospital which doesn’t couldn’t communicate any of that. even have a stroke unit. Then the helicopter took three hours because it He was so depressed and awful. was first diverted for a road accident.

The director at Rankin Park pulled me By the time Stephen got to John aside and said ‘Tracy if he doesn’t start Hunter it six hours after his stroke, trying hard, we ‘re going to send him which in 2013 was too late for any kind home and you’re not going to be able to of treatment except to watch and hope look after him in this state.’ So I went in for the best.” there and I said “Right, start trying! We “At 1am the next morning the surgeon want you home! You can’t come home like this!” called, ‘Stephen’s not good and we’re rushing him for emergency surgery.

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Patrick, Tracy, Stephen, Emily and Shadow the ‘Wonder dog’

In the beginning I was so scared that they were right and I was gonna end up putting him in a nursing home.

I’m so glad that we stuck with it and just kept going. You’ve got to find your bucket of resilience and keep it full.

The next day was like a new man and Stephen tried his heart out after that.

I have to say the social workers were a Godsend!

Then he went to the Hunter Brain Injury Service for another month. “They got Stephen walking, which was awesome.

I wasn’t sure he’d ever walk again. At first with his rehab there was no speech at all, not even words. And then when the words started coming, they were so garbled but he kept on.”

Way to go!

Support of Tracy’s ‘Stroke wives’ (and partners) has been a wonderful support.

Stephen and Tracy met Neil and Vicki at Rankin Park. They are now great friends.

“The whole community rallied around us as Stephen could no longer work as a civil engineer. His workplace helped with petrol vouchers and Council organised for our family daycare to be free for 26 weeks or so to ease the financial burden which allowed me to work part time. Stephen had a lot of sick leave and the local government actually changed the Award so that he could access his long service leave at half pay so that it lasts longer. In fact anyone in NSW can now get the same benefit so that their pay lasts longer.

had to stand up and say something.

He got up he looked at the Mayor and he said “footpaths!” and the Mayor thought, “OK. Footpaths... what about footpaths?” Stephen wanted to discuss footpaths and they did.

working 14 hours a week and we live half an hour from my workplace, so I really needed someone at home with Stephen the whole day for those two days and also I needed help because we were struggling with cleaning and other things. So we wrote a sad letter to Joel’s office, and Tracey’s tip to me was “write it about your worst day, not your best day”. And so we did that and our package nearly tripled!

Afterwards the Mayor came to me and said “How about Stephen and I try and catch up before a council meeting so we’re on the same page?”. So we started doing that, which has helped!

My friend Tracey has been amazing in that way over the years to help us get You’ve got to laugh! If you good NDIS funding packages because don’t laugh you cry.

It was at an Aphasia discussion group she’d done it all and she didn’t take crap Aileen takes Stephen to Council and that Stephen and Tracy met Mark and from doctors. The doctors need to ALP meetings (he’s been a member Tracey, who were also recovering from realize they are on your team, not the of the ALP for several years). There’s a major stroke. Tracey’s experience other way around. an election soon and Stephen likes in navigating life after stroke for Mark Without Headstart there’s no way to stand on the booths as our local proved invaluable to them both.

I would have gone back to work as candidate and Aileen has taken to “After six months we had to do the an environmental projects officer at that like a duck to water. She loves it!

Centrelink thing which was just Council. Aileen is our main support Aileen will help Stephen a lot on the ridiculously hard. They wanted Stephen worker and she’s very chatty. She’s actual pre-polling booths and talking to to come for job readiness assessment become family now really. She’s good! people in the lead-up. and they just didn’t get it. So Tracey Our other support worker is Alyshia We’ve been to Parliament House to talk helped us so much. I don’t know what who is also great. Because there are with Greg Hunt and Joel Fitzgibbon we would done without her, and local fewer support workers up here we during Stroke Week in 2016 and helped MP Joel Fitzgibbon’s office helped us don’t get the variety, but we don’t secure $1m funding for stroke that so much too. mind. They spend a lot of time at didn’t exist before. Greg Hunt still doctors appointments more they do remembers us and asked the CEO So that’s my tip to people: going for coffees. Stephen walks as don’t be afraid to call in your along beside as the CSW’s take our dog of the Stoke Foundation “Would this have helped Stephen?” So we made an Shadow for walks because he would local Member, and don’t be impression on the Health Minister! afraid to tap into people that probably pull Steven over.

So we’ve done many talks for the I have Saturday mornings off. I leave already know how to do it.

Stroke Foundation and were nominated them with Aileen and the kids and they Local members are good with federal do stuff without me here. It’s my time! for the Courage award in 2019. They flew us down to Melbourne for the issues such as Centrelink and NDIS. I just go to the gym, have a coffee and dinner, we stayed overnight, met lots If you have any issues with that – like catch up with some friends. of other stroke survivors - which was our first NDIS package was woefully Stephen had been a Councillor before awesome - and received the award. inadequate. It wasn’t going to cover his stroke. It was probably ten months the cost of the support workers and We’ve appeared on The Project on after his stroke that he got back to speech therapy and physiotherapy television, raising the issue of rural that we really needed. I needed to keep his first council meeting. Stephen stroke and that if you can get to the NewsLink Dec 2021 I Page 16

Below: Stephen and CSW Aileen putting ‘How to Vote’ flyers in local letterboxes. Right: Stephen talks to a local resident about the elections scheduled for 4 December 2021.

Never give up.

It does get better.

- Tracy hospital within an hour you basically can reverse the stroke. Because we live 130ks from a major hospital, meaning it’s very difficult to get there within an hour, and so the Stroke Foundation has us on board to help with these projects.

Stephen is also on the Hospital Auxiliary which means he helps Denman hospital fundraise. It’s not actually a hospital, but rather an aged care with a doctors attached for people in an emergency. They often don’t have the equipment they need and so Stephen helps raise money for things if they can’t get the funding.”

Stephen, what are you proud of?

The term should have ended last September but with COVID they’ve kept them on and the election is now December 4th.

After he first had his stroke Council meetings were difficult with Stephen’s aphasia. But as his speech has improved and councillors understood aphasia a bit better, it’s made everything a little bit easier.

It’s been a bit easier to do all the meetings with over Zoom too because we haven’t had to actually go into council for meetings for a while. That’ll be starting again soon.

Even though he is a civil engineer, after his stroke I could tell that people were thinking “Mmmm, is Stephen any good? Is he helping?” Then they had a really big project at Muswell Creek, and Stephen put up his hand in the middle Tracy: “Because he’s a civil engineer of the meeting and asked if they’d done he has been very vocal about roads, a tender for this project because it gutters and footpaths in our Shire. seemed far too expensive to him. They He’s been able to work very well with had one quote, and Stephen said that them on those sorts of things, and it needed to go to tender. So they did when he sees something that’s been and it came back tens of thousands of fixed that makes Stephen very happy! dollars cheaper, and all of a sudden the They’ve installed disabled parking at an Mayor went “Yeah, he’s still got it!”. indoor sports centre in Muswellbrook Is it a busy job being on Council? as a result of Stephen’s stroke.

“Yep. It can have it’s busy moments!”

“Helping council and roads. I first ran for council in 2008 because I wanted to serve my community. It’s been 13 years now.”

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How many more terms of council would you like, Stephen?

“Two more terms. There’s normally four years in a term.”

Tracy: That’ll take him to retirement!

What keeps you motivated, Stephen?

“Talking to people!”

What do you find difficult?

“Aphasia causes me frustration. Climbing stairs is not easy!”

Tracy: Especially when he knows what he wants to say and he can’t get his point across. That will be the one thing Stephen always wants to improve.

Stephen’s pretty happy with how he can walk these days. He doesn’t need his right arm too much anymore.

I know a lot of people are really motivated to get there on the left upper limb function back, but Stephen was like “No, I just want to concentrate on my talking.” So a lot of his rehab focuses on his communication. If he’s well prepared he can deliver quite a long speech, which he’s done before.

So you’re quite a determined man?

“Yep!”

Stephen definitely gets our vote!

Karaoke Queen Meet Abby, Headstart’s own songbird!

We are excited to welcome Abby as a new member of our Community Education Team.

So you’ve done a lot of karaoke Abby?

Y

es, I was pretty good! Before COVID came in I did a lot of karaoke. I used to go to The Tavern to sing, and everyone in the crowd would clap. A lot of support workers would come out and see my videos and say “Who is that?

What, that’s you? No way!”

I sing every day, as much as I can now. I’ve only ever sung on a stage when I was at school. I also used to play guitar but then I got hit by a car.

What kind of songs do you sing?

I find a song on YouTube. I like ones with the lyrics on the screen. My favourites are Beyonce, Tina Arena and Shania Twain… she’s so awesome!

Back to your car accident. What happened?

Thirteen years ago my boyfriend went through a red light, and we got t-boned on my side. A van going 70 k’s hit my side of the car and I copped about 800-900 pieces of glass on my cheek.

I don’t know how long I was in hospital, but I could hear everything that was going on while I was in the coma. In my head I was singing and putting songs together. I had to know that I was coming back out of the coma.

If I didn’t come out of the coma I wouldn’t be able to sing the song that I wrote in my head called “Don’t you dare cry.” So I had to.

When I did come out of it I was quadriplegic for a bit. I was getting annoyed at myself because I couldn’t move. It was pissing me off and I was so angry because I couldn’t move.

I had rehab which was horrible, but after a while I learned to walk and talk again. Walking was the hardest. Reading and writing and speaking too. I had to start from child level, with pureed baby food.

It sounds like you’ve come a long way!

Well, it’s been a long time. I’ve still got carers 24/7 because of my seizures which started as a result of my brain injury.

They are scary and terrifying, and I take medication for them. I’m now on 14 tablets a day for various things.

Sometimes I just can’t stop moving something, like a hand or a foot. That’s annoying!

I have noticed now - after many years - that my facial scars have gone down heaps. They had to pick every piece of glass out, even though I’ve still got some pieces of glass still in my skin.

Headstart have supported me for most of the thirteen years and they are great. They have helped me so much, I don’t think I could be where I am, as I am, without them.

They’re like family. It feels like this because I don’t have family that care for me. But these guys do care. My support workers help think of things to do, and then we do it. We often go shopping because I don’t have a licence. They’ll also help me with doing things around the house.

We also go take my dog Debbie dog for a walk. My dog is a Whippet cross Ridgeback cross Dalmatian cross Bull Arab – a bit of everything!

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One of my cats follows my dog when I go to the park. He always follows us, just a step behind. He sticks right next to us when we’re throwing the ball. I think he’s jealous because when I squat down he rolls on his belly for a rub!

I’ve also got three cats and a bird, so I love animals.

I’m not a really social person, but we will go for a coffee. I don’t like the beach because of the sand, that really bugs me.

What are some of your goals?

I want to become a famous singer one day. I’d like to be on The Voice too, singing on TV. When I watch it I always feel like I’m also one of the judges. I love Simon because he tells the exact moments when they are off tune and I understand what he means. Every time I’ve been listening to my karaoke I’m also trying to judge it!

Do you have any Christmas plans?

I’m not really a Christmas person because I don’t know what to do. I don’t normally see my family, so I’m not sure. Last Christmas I just stayed home with the presents that I didn’t give to my family last year because I didn’t see anyone. So if I do see them this year for Christmas I’ll just give them the same presents!

My New Year’s resolution is that I want to stop smoking, that’s my goal. The last two years have been a bit tough because of COVID so I’m hoping for a better one next year.

Lastly, why did you get involved in the Community Education team at Headstart?

I just want to help in any way that I can. I do it because I think that other people will benefit. But because of COVID I haven’t done any presentations yet.

“Meeting the CET team for lunch was great.

Other people that understood having a brain injury - like fully understand - not via computers either. They understand me and I understand. It was great to hear their stories. So good! “ - Abby After many lockdown Zoom calls it was great for the CET Team to finally catch up.

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I was married at the time. My wife and I love each other and we’ve come out of it as good as we possibly could.

We haven’t had any children - partly because of myself, and because of the way we thought about things.

I’m still wishing that I could do more. I would love to still be doing computer programming but that just got too hard to keep up with. I then had interviews with NDIS and employment services and they helped direct me to study at TAFE where I did a certificate in community services. I then worked at Connect Ability for 3 or 4 years supporting and caring for people.

Moving from computers to helping people was a really good thing!

A jump start While his accident was in 1992, Phil says that he has “a new lease on life” since beginning with Headstart a year ago.

“I

was on Minmi road driving home to Maryland from a friend’s place. It was an 80km hour zone at the time and wasn’t surrounded by a million houses. I came around a corner and there was two horses in the middle of the road and I hit them both, resulting in a big accident. Thankfully I was driving a Saab which is a very safe car.

While recovering in hospital it was clear that my brain injury was causing problems with my left side hearing and vision.

The damage to the front part of my brain has caused the biggest problem which is really bad short term memory.

So my accident wasn’t too much of a physical thing. I spent a couple of months at Hunter Brain Injury Service on Darby Street. They were essential in helping me become a person again part of my recovery and dealing with those early problems and helping me ‘get better’.

At the time I was working as a computer programmer for BHP. They kept my job going and finally - once I was out of hospital again - I started back there two days a week. But I wasn’t as quick is off the mark as I used to be.

Unfortunately, these days for programmers, time is of the essence and I couldn’t achieve the results quickly enough.

In the end with further analysis of my brain and my eyes, they found further vision impairment but realised that it wasn’t my eyes but my brain. From then I couldn’t drive a car anymore because I’m legally blind.

This meant I couldn’t continue doing support work for people, because properly because I could no longer transport anyone around. So I had to retire from that job about a year ago now, and I haven’t had a job since.

I’ve always collected model cars, although that’s been affected by my disability too. I used to get the model car classic kits and spend weeks putting this wonderful car together. It was great fun when I was young.

But unfortunately, because of my vision issues, that became physically impossible for me to do. What I do now – and it’s important to me even though I’m not building them – is I collect cars. I’ve got a filing cabinet with a few dozen classic metal cars that I’ve collected.

For a long while after that I was almost like a hermit, staying at home and not doing much. I would still love to still work in some capacity again some day.

At that stage the NDIS helped give me the opportunity to be supported by Headstart, and now I can go out and do things and be connected with people.

It helped me to be more human. And that’s magic, that’s really important.

It means that I actually now have a purpose in life. On a particular day I have to be somewhere at a certain time, and I’m meeting up with those people. It’s great!

Phil rarely misses the Rec get togethers.

The sad thing is that you’re different. You’re not the same person anymore.

It’s hard because what you were really good and what you really loved, and still love, you can’t do as well as you used to be able to.

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Headstart have been supporting me for about a year now, and this is the first support I’ve had since having to retire from doing my own support work. Besides the one to one support the Rec group activities are great too.

I’ve got Tilly on Tuesday’s every week, and we go off for three hours just doing things, and it’s great. One of us chooses a spot where we’d like to go and sometimes we just go for a walk and enjoy that place. It may be at the Lake or wherever, this week we went to Blackbutt Reserve.

I enjoy the company and doing something different as well, and having the support allows that to happen.

Sometimes we join a group to walk, like last week it was a lovely day and we walked from Bar Beach to Merewether and back.

Sometimes we do some shopping, but generally we just go to places and look around. But because I am a caffeine addict, 99% of the time the place we go has to have a good coffee place that we can go to. That’s important!

Headstart is an organisation which is all about looking after their clients – the people. They ask the clients ‘would you like to do this?’ and you say yes or no.

I’ve now got people who I know that I can do things with and enjoy and I get a chance to go to new places that I didn’t have the ability to go to before.

Of course the world is different because of the virus, so that’s changed what they can do and are able to do. So I’m sure it’s been an exciting time for Headstart too!”

“Phil has blossomed through art!”

- Sophie Mill, art tutor “I’ve always had an interest in art which I enjoyed at school.” says Phil. “The relaxation of doing something and seeing the results is wonderful. It’s so helpful having Sophie helping here alongside me, she’s very supportive and her whole attitude is great.”

“Whenever I leave the class, the experience is stays in my head for a few hours and that’s wonderful. I think it’s something I should be doing more of, because my mind went through a very bad accident. I lost my background thoughts for so many things. Coming here, it was good to say to myself “Hey, Phil try and do this again, you used to do it years ago, try and do it again.” That’s really important as I’d like to get my head back to where it was. I can’t unfortunately go the whole way because I’ve got too many errors from running into things.”

“There will always be things in life that go up and down.” says Sophie, Phil’s art therapy tutor. “With visual art with one stroke it can work and you go ‘that’s amazing!’

And another stroke it just completely goes south. So you learn to handle that, you learn to adapt to ups and downs of life. I keep reminding my students that it’s only paint and you are allowed to paint over it… as you adapt. Phil’s doing a pretty good job, and it is exciting from my angle to watch him come alive and say “well, that’s looking good!”

Watch a short video of “Phileo DaVinceo” with Sophie at his art therapy class. Scan the QR code with your smartphone or go to www.vimeo com/648893142

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In 1987 A two-person yacht race From Melbourne/Australia to Osaka/ Japan was announced. So naturally, I became obsessed with competing in it. However, it took me until 2003 to finally get a competitive and seaworthy yacht for such an epic race.

Ultimately I sailed the yacht in the race twice, 2003 and 2013. After arriving in Japan the second time, I sailed across to America and competed from Los Angeles to Hawaii in the Transpac race.

On my return to Australia, I wanted to do something different with my life.

So after selling the boat, I decided to go back to TAFE in 2017. I became qualified in Outdoor Recreation.

Certificate IV, Wilderness first aid and Whitewater Rescue.

I loved my new career, working with teenagers in the great outdoors, teaching the students all sorts of outdoor skills.

While engaged with a class in December 2019, teaching abseiling on a twelve-meter cliff, I fell over the edge.

Life on the edge

This is the cliff face that Ivan fell down while teaching kids to abseil, resulting in a brain injury.

It took paramedics, police and the rescue helicopter all day to remove me from the bottom of the cliff. With numerous broken bones, teeth and facial damage, and a brain injury, I spent months in various hospitals.

I am now in the middle of a lengthy rehabilitation journey, and Jessica from Headstart has assisted me continuously for the past 18 months with day to day chores and cooking. I have the highest regard for the quality of assistance from the Headstart team and Jessica as an individual.

After my accident I couldn’t go on any heights. That gave me a lot of anxiety.

Even just a verandah on a building. So From sailing to abseiling, Ivan Jess started working with me on getting is a true outdoor adventure me back to being able to go to the edge man with an extraordinary of a drop. That’s why we spent a lot of months just walking along edges of roller coaster story. cliffs and stuff, slowly working closer riginally after leaving school and becoming more acclimatized to

and the military, I spent several it. Like I couldn’t even walk along a years working in a boat building yard. It retaining wall in a garden. All this was here I developed a passion for sailing anxiety. Jess helped me a lot to deal and all things boats. with that.”

“O

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Ivan’s Sea Odyssey, Sep 2013

Environmental activism

“I

instigated an article back in 2013 called “The Ocean is Broken” after sailing a yacht 37,000km from Japan to America through the Pacific garbage patch and documented that phenomenon. The story went viral right around the world. I did a whole bunch of public speaking and from there I had a large numbers of environmental groups contact me and I got more and more heavily involved.

I then got in very deep with the Whitehaven Coal Mine campaign at Maules Creek. It broke my heart, honestly. It was the home of the last White Box (eucalyptus) forest in the world and they dozed it. They pushed it over - all the old hollows, the lot. We fought that up there for years. I got arrested and everything. We broke into the mine one night at about two o’clock in the morning and we carried saplings in there, little trees. And I sat in the bottom of the mine with bulldozers planting the little trees and I just had tears running. I just couldn’t believe the devastation of what these people were happy to do.

After that I started to get involved in Adani up in Queensland. I did one protest over on the coast there just out from Gladstone. It was the last big one that I did and I thought “We’re canon fodder here.” So I came to the conclusion that it was there was two ways to attack it. You can be on the outside like an activist, throwing rocks at the castle. Or you can be inside the castle politically, up on the ramparts looking down at the people throwing the rocks.

So I came back down here and I stood for the Greens as the Lake Macquarie candidate. By politically being inside the castle rather than throwing rocks I got further. So I got heavily involved in the Marine Parks where they wanted to overrule a lot of the parks. We won a lot of the parks, but not all of them. That’s why many of the Marine Parks are still there today off the NSW coast. And I drove around from council meeting after council meeting talking to the Council’s and then got the Council’s to lobby the state government.

Saving the Link Road Bushland

I’d done nothing for a while lately, and then this came up. And because this is so close to home, and it’s the last forest that links the coast to the mountain range. It’s home to 15 threatened species and they’re just going to doze it. Back in the 80’s, developers felt they had a right to just carve the forests and farmland.

It was very arrogant and that kind of underpins the whole attitude of property developers, whereas they think it’s a God given right to push trees down and build houses.

It’s not just the Link Road which I’m advocating for now, they’re doing it everywhere. I’m a volunteer, there’s no money, but it occupies my day, gets me talking to people and stops me sitting here on my own looking at the four walls. So it’s part of my recovery path as well.

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More info at about the Link Road campaign that Ivan is part of: www.hcec.org.au/ link-road-rezoning

The New Fit As a qualified personal trainer, Nikki knows how to get people motivated. It’s always worth remember that every little bit of exercise helps, so just start somewhere!

Rec group out and about.

M

y husband and I visited my 82-year Father-in-law to find he has been sitting on an old director’s chair, instead of his comfy lounge. He explained that he’s finding it difficult to get in and out of his usual chair.

My husband lovingly suggested we go and buy him a lift chair. While this may sound like a great idea, is it really?

Should we take away one of the only forms of exercise he gets in a day? I should think not. It requires energy and muscle strength to get up and down, another major factor to consider is that we should be assisting him to keep his independence as much as possible. Doing too much to “help” someone may not necessarily be the best thing for them.

Yes, protect and be there for people, but don’t take away independence.

Because along with this can be the loss of confidence to ever do it again themselves.

Incidental exercise - which you may have heard of - means taking and finding opportunities to move: you may park the car further away, take the stairs, walk the longer route, hang the washing out instead of using

the dryer. Yes, going to the gym is absolutely a fantastic idea because you’re there, you’ve committed, and there’s no turning back now.

The goals you set for yourself change depending on your circumstances.

Things happening are sometimes beyond our control, not necessarily something that we did, or did not do, but simply because life just happens.

How do we handle the adversity, the lifelong influx of events that test and challenge us? You can always have a game plan, and you should. But what about when that plan falls apart?!

Now we start to pick up the pieces, reroute, modify, change, adapt.

Continuing towards your goal because that is the moment when most people will call it quits.

You can’t control your life, and that’s frustrating. But what you can control is how you deal with it. Mentally pushing the discomfort down.

Adjust, move forward, not getting discouraged.

There is usually a solution no matter what your problem. You just need to find it. Seek out a solution, make the NewsLink Dec 2021 I Page 24

adjustments to get going because at the end of the day that is all that matters. Move your goal posts closer, make your goal more achievable. Set a goal. Work towards it, piece by piece, step by step. Visualise it.

Now if you’d asked me 10-15 years ago, my take on being fit was very different to the one I have today.

I was at one of my lowest moments, after being diagnosed with AutoImmune Disease. Those times make you re-focus, re-access, ok, what can I do?

First you must tell yourself, and maybe, over, and over, that you can do it. Visualise it, do it inside your mind, picture it, feel it.

Can’t run = walk. Can’t walk = bike.

Can’t bike = swim.

Can’t use one part of your body = use what you can.

Lucky for us we have loads of assistance to guide us with exercises and routines from physio’s and exercise specialist and support from our beloved support workers. But you

need to put in the hard work and ‘be the change.’

So, what does ‘being fit’ look like?

Good question. It’s not running a 10k in under 50 mins (at least not anymore). It means being realistic and making the effort to being the healthiest version of YOU. If you have high blood pressure, diabetes, or are overweight, perhaps we can work towards improving or lowering the numbers. We know that exercise has amazing benefits, so let’s aim to do a little something once a day. If your legs are sore from yesterday, then pick up a light set of weights and do your upper body.

Recovery and sleep are just as important, listen to your body.

Eating a little better is a great idea, cutting down on the sugar perhaps.

In fact, when you exercise you tend to not want to eat as bad as to undo all your hard work. A fitness goal may be to walk to the end of the street and back. Remember step by step.

At Headstart we offer a range of activities to keep you moving.

Karate, Zoom or face to face exercise classes, walks, outings, and recreation activities designed to keep you active.

We also have associations with gyms and supports to get you there.

Just find something that you enjoy doing. Don’t be too hard on yourself, but don’t be too easy either!

Nikki Headstart Rec Coordinator

A personalised card to assist people with brain injury in the community.

The National Assistance Card is available for all people in Australia living with brain injury. The Card has key information about the cardholder, their brain injury related difficulties and ways they can be assisted.

Applications for the National Assistance Card are now available online through the secure application portal.

Apply at www.nationalassistancecard.com.au Visit website for FAQ’s Card cost $44 NewsLink Dec 2021 I Page 25

Rec Ramblings

Headstart’s Rec activities keep many of our consumers busy and there isn’t space on this page to feature all of them. Check out Facebook for daily updates of Rec happenings, including seated yoga, pool competitions, Zoo and Museum visits, ten pin bowling, BBQ’s and of course karate. Here’s a small snapshot of some of the recent activities.

Blackbutt with one of our youngest participants - Ben’s three month old son, Ned.

Footgolf at Breresfield

Did you know that golf doesn’t have to involve a set of clubs and small white balls? But it always does involve being outdoors, having fun and exercising!

Regular golf: great swing James!

Fernleigh track Bike ride. First time rec participant, Brock C joined James and Austin for a ride on the beautiful track.

Frisbee golf at Jesmond Blokes can bake too!

A visit to Port Stephens.

Regular golf... or maybe not (where’s the ball, Ken?) NewsLink Dec 2021 I Page 26

Silly things that go on at Rec...

Rec held and art activity with the assistance of our very own talented artist, Mark E. After starting painting two years ago Mark found that art gave him a new direction in life and helped him get through the tough times after his brain injury. Mark helped us to paint an abstract artwork which brought out some real creative flair and resulted in some awesome paintings. We will repeat this activity a few times a year. Thanks so much Mark!

In the van Nikki gets directional advice ALL THE TIME and then makes them repeat it in a foreign voice like a real time GPS. Ken is instructed to not exit a moving vehicle as he always pretends to want to get out when we are pulled up at traffic lights.

On getting in the car Nikki has said “watch your head over one million times”.

‘Belt up and shoosh’ up is said almost every time we are in the vehicle.

Women’s Group

Women’s Group has been busy as always, from Scavenger Hunts at Blackbutt to creative cooking, crafts and trivia among other fun activities.

If Nikki goes the wrong direction, it is because she is avoiding the trains.

Kynan always wants to drive home.

Dad’s jokes are an everyday occurrence on Rec! Not the good dad jokes either, the worse, the better : )

Mug painting and scone cooking. Lyn had too much fun throwing flour on Kristy!

NewsLink Dec 2021 I Page 27

Congrats Owen

Something fishy!

“Nice flathead, first fish of the day!” says CSW Jason who sent us this pic of David enjoying a post lockdown fishing trip.

Bronze at Tokyo Olympics!

David really hoped to appear in the newsletter, so we wouldn’t want to disappoint him! Fishing has been a favourite activity for David, a man with a rock’n’roll soul. His favourite spots are the Hexham/ Tanilba Bay region and the river at Raymond Terrace close to the jetty.

Great catch David!

Making a Complaint

If you would like to continue receiving NewsLink, become a member by contacting us on 4965 4420 for a membership application.

Our membership year starts from the 1st July. Your contributions to the newsletter are welcomed, and we will keep you up to date on all the issues, activities and the developments in services.

You have the right to complain under the Community Services (Complaints, review and monitoring) Act 1993. If you have a complaint there are steps to take. At each step, every effort will be made to resolve your complaint before going to the next step.

Step 1. Talk with the person concerned

Step 2: Talk with Co-worker/staff member Step 3: Talk with Director

Step 4: Talk with Chairperson Step 5: Talk with Committee

Step 6: Talk with an outside service

At each step you have the right to have someone else present if you wish. This person is called an advocate and may be your friend, family member, staff member, paid advocate or someone else.

If you wish Headstart can help you locate an independent advocate.

Traditional Owners

We recognise, respect and embrace the Aboriginal elders and people of this region as the traditional custodians and cultural knowledge holders if this land. We further acknowledge the cultural contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders with disability and reaffirm our vision of a world where every person is welcomed.

NewsLink is produced by many people at Headstart ABI Services.

We welcome contributions from everyone: an article, letter, photograph, poetry, etc. We also welcome suggestions as to articles that we could write about for future issues.

A little more sparkle, a little less stress.

This Christmas we wish you the very best!

We appreciate feedback on things like the kind of stories, size of our typeface, layout and general appearance of our newsletter.

HAVE YOUR SAY on these, or any other issues by writing to us at: Headstart ABI Services 95 Turnbull Street HAMILTON NSW 2303 or email: comms@headstart-abi.com.au NewsLink Dec 2021 I Page 28