Wairarapa’s locally owned community newspaper
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2018
INSIDE: A plumber’s plight to help the elder ly P3
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‘I shouldn’t be alive’ Emily Ireland Aaryn Harper, 52, has been stabbed twice, accidentally shot, beaten to within an inch of his life, and was struck down by a heart attack two years ago. In his own words, he’s never been very lucky – “the last time I won something was when I was 17”. And so a random act of kindness went a long way recently when he stumbled across an envelope outside Countdown in Masterton that simply said, “open me”. It was a Tuesday – the day before pay day – and Aaryn had $8, enough to buy himself some groceries to make dinner. His major heart attack forced him to give up work and he is currently on a very limited income as a result. After doing his shop, he found the envelope outside and opened it to find $10 and a message that put an ear-to-ear grin on his face. The message said: “I am so grateful that you are alive and well today. I hope this message of love fills your day with lots of joy and happiness because you deserve the best”. Still dealing with the grief of losing his teenaged nephew Ryan Crook this year
to suicide, Aaryn said the message was “just so nice”. He used the $10 to splash out on takeaways, storing the groceries he had bought in the fridge for another day. He said although it was a “random act of kindness”, in some ways the kindness was “very intentional”. “I walked home from the supermarket with the message in my pocket and a grin so big on my face I just couldn’t believe how sweet and lovely it was. “I couldn’t believe my luck.” In fact, it could be said that Aaryn has had very bad luck in the past – or perhaps he is very lucky to be alive. When he had his heart attack two years ago, he was flown to hospital and had four stents put in “because my heart was 95 per cent blocked”. “They were surprised I was even alive.” He has been given clearance to start work again in January. As well as a heart attack, Aaryn has been “shot once, stabbed twice and survived all of that”. He accidentally shot himself in the face as a kid attempting to use gun powder to make firecrackers. “The quickest way to get it out was to stick the bullet on a brick and hit it on another brick. “Bang, I shot myself in the face and took a chunk out of the brow bone. Continued on page 3
Aaryn Harper, of Masterton. PHOTO/EMILY IRELAND
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