8
Nelson Weekly
News
TUESDAY 22 November 2016
'I'm angry and lonely' Locally Owned and Operated
A brain injury from car crash and people make fun of him for it Andrew Board John Wakelin is frustrated, angry and, most of all, lonely. His life was full of fun and mischief when he was a 20-yearold forklift driver. He loved his ute, loved to drink beer with his mates and was looking forward to a long happy life. On the night that changed it all, John was doing a good deed. He’d just finished playing indoor cricket and had dropped a friend off in Wakefield before driving back to his home in Richmond. On his way through Three Brothers Corner a drunk driver smashed into his car, breaking the leg of a passenger, breaking the leg of the drunk and leaving John in hospital unconscious for a month and fighting for his life. Reflecting on that night and the 33 years that have followed it, John wishes he hadn't come out of that coma. “If it happened again I’d sooner die than going through all of this again.” John suffered a brain injury from the crash that has left him unable to work. He feels isolated, with little contact with family and friends, and what makes it worse is the people who make fun of him. “There’s heaps of prejudice, peo-
Nelson man John Wakelin suffered a brain injury after a horrific car accident in 1983, he now has to put up with people making fun of him for the way he walks and talks. Photo: Andrew Board. ple abuse me. I can’t be bothered with people like that. Go through a windscreen and see how you get on.” John admits that he doesn’t have much of a filter when it comes to saying what’s on his mind, so he does react when people say cruel things to him. He knows it doesn’t help, but he can’t do anything about it.
Vista Heights, Bishopdale Sections Now Available Sunny elevated sections with a relaxed rural feel, perfectly positioned between Nelson City and Stoke.
SOLD SOLD
LOT
m2
PRICE
6
730
$230,000
7
1630
$220,000
8
850
SOLD
9
800
SOLD
10
790
SOLD
11
680
SOLD
12
1640
SOLD
13
1040
SOLD
14
1090
SOLD
15
1000
SOLD
127
490
SOLD
Louise Devine - louise@gibbons.co.nz Ph 03 548 3039 | www.gibbonsproperty.co.nz
“I just wish everyone would leave me alone, just not even talk to me, I don’t want to talk to them.” A prime example was last Guy Fawkes night when some local kids put fireworks in his letterbox. When they went off, John came running from his house yelling at them. One of the kids then threw a rock which whizzed past John’s head and smashed a
window. Brain Injury coordinator Fiona Price says John’s situation is tough. “That’s one of the reasons why John was keen to tell his story because that’s something that happens a lot. People in society make judgements. “Especially young people calling names to him, they think he’s stupid because he walks a bit funny,
not realising that actually he’s been through a major trauma.” John says boredom is one of the hardest things to deal with and he spends his days at the Elma Turner Library, cycling around Nelson and visiting Fiona and Clare Van Eeden from Brain Injury Support. “I’m lonely, and that helps fuel the anger and that anger keeps people away. It’s a catch-22, you can’t win.” Fiona says brain injury is really common in New Zealand with about 90 people suffering a brain injury every day. “But it’s not talked about all that much, because a lot of it is hidden. A lot of people who come in here, you’d never know they had a brain injury, they look fit and healthy, but then you start talking to them and realise that, yeah, things aren’t going so well.” This week is Brain Injury Awareness Week in Nelson and along with trying to raise awareness of it, Fiona and Clare are also running street collections, with the money raised used to fund support group meetings, of which four are held every fortnight. Collectors will be at Richmond Mall on Thursday, November 24, and on Trafalgar St on Saturday, November 26.
Another Happy Client “Michelle, I want to express our family’s sincere appreciation of the professional manner in which you handled the sale of our late father’s townhouse in The Wood, Nelson. You had an honest, transparent manner and gave clear guidance from listing, right through to the very successful auction outcome. We were impressed with the high level of integrity and honesty that you brought to the process. We are confident that we would not have such a rewarding outcome if we had not chosen you to list our property. We highly recommend you to any vendor or purchaser.” David Short, Nelson
“Sincere Service, Nothing Less” Michelle Sowman M 021 622 626
B 03 546 9455
VINING REALTY GROUP LIMITED, BAYLEYS LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008
michelle.sowman@bayleys.co.nz
Unlimited living Richmond is humming with restaurants and cafés, high quality shopping outlets, professional services, great events, venues for sport and entertainment – everything you need to work, live and play in one of New Zealand’s fastest growing regions. SHOPPING DINING OUT ACCOMMODATION EVENTS + VENUES SPORT + LEISURE SERVICES
RICHMOND UNLIMITED
Keep up-to-date on what’s happening, where to go and what to do, visit www.richmondunlimited.co.nz