Hon Tariana Turia

Associate Minister of Health

Thursday 8 July 2010; 10am Speech-notes


Opening of the Pumau Te Aroha Brain Injury Residential Rehabilitation Facility
'Just Get Back up and go with life'

I want to thank Judy Green-Philpott, the Midland Area Manager for hosting us here today; Alan Clarke from Abano Healthcare, and Matua Rangi Manihera for all the work that you do, to make sure the people that come through these doors are supported in the best possible ways.

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Six weeks ago, a young man called Matangi Te Wake, featured as the star of the television programme, Marae.

Now I mean ‘star’ in all senses of the word – not just the celebrity status, but also someone who guides us forward, who illuminates a pathway ahead; someone to look up to.

Four years ago, Matangi suffered a horrific brain injury as a result of a rugby tackle that went horribly wrong.

The doctors told his whanau he had no chance, it was almost impossible to imagine that he could walk, talk or play rugby again. Nothing short of a miracle would save him.

Today Matangi would respond – "you might call it a miracle, I call it my prayers being answered by my whanau".

So today, you will find Matangi entertaining his school mates at Panguru Area School, telling jokes, making them laugh, and at the same time teaching them an amazing lesson about survival.

Because as Matangi reflected on the last four years, he talked about the importance of never letting go of his dreams.

The secret to his success was very simple : “When I am feeling down, holding a grudge, I talk to my Dad and he tells me just to get back up and go with life”.

That profound faith, that determination and resolve to “get back up and go with life” sums up everything I could wish for this wonderful new facility, Pumau Te Aroha.

It is in the meaning of endless, abiding love; the constancy of whanau; the commitment and everlasting strength that enables each of us to endure.

Today, we are gathered to give our blessing to this new facility.

But our support is about much more than marvelling at the 23 beds which will provide a base for about 50 new clients a year, no matter how significant that is.

We are here to share our admiration, our thanks and our love to the whanau and family who do so much to support the challenges that people face on the pathway towards independence.

The people in who we confide; the people who challenge us; who are our source of greatest strength,

They are the people who remind us to just get back up and go with life.

For some unknown reason, New Zealand has one of the highest rates of brain injuries in the Western world.

On a sheer numbers basis, brain injuries affect 650 out of every 100,000 New Zealanders, compared with 300 per 100,000 in North America, Australia and the United Kingdom.

Just to make some sense of these numbers, the Brain Injury Association reports that each day ninety New Zealanders sustain a brain injury of some kind.

In other words, ninety families every day of the year, are reeling from the personal, social and economic consequences of brain injuries.

Each person that suffers a brain injury will have a different experience; the causes of brain injuries are multiple and complex.

Some will have been injured, like Matangi, on the sportsfield; others will have been caught in accidents; there will be people here who have suffered falls; others may have endured harm through the damage of car crashes or violent assault. Whatever the cause, all are united by a common call to have their injury responded to promptly and in a way that meets their specific needs.

And there is another thing that stands out.

The key challenge facing all people who suffer an acute brain injury is to ensure that the brain injury does not define them.

What will define them is the courage they will need to draw on, in order to survive the suffering, and to succeed in leading independent lives.

That courage will be fuelled through the involvement of families and whanau in the decisions about the rehabilitation process.

With these thoughts in mind then, I was really pleased to be invited here to open Pumau Te Aroha – to be able to recognise the crucial role that whanau play in assisting in both the short term and long term rehabilitation and support.

There is a particular reason why I know Pumau Te Aroha will be successful.

This facility, owned under the umbrella of Abano Rehabilitation, is also guided under the cultural supervision of local kaumatua Rangi Manihera.

As part of the commitment to care, Abano Rehabilitation has for some time been developing the Whare Tapa Wha model as the basis of a care plan for both Maori and non-Maori clients.

For those who are unfamiliar, the Whare Tapa Wha model considers the physical, mental, social and spiritual aspects of clients. In essence it is about recognising these aspects as the four pou of the whare, the walls upon which rehabilitation stands.

This is what I mean when I say let not the brain injury define you.

Let us be defined by the outcomes we seek across all spheres.

Of course treatment for brain injuries, particularly at the critical post-ICU stage is an essential – and I know that the intensive rehabilitation services contract is very helpful.

But it is just as important that people who enter this facility have every support available to return them to their own homes in the quickest period possible.

It is important that all of us remember that when events happen to us that shake our lives to the very foundation, all of our needs – physical, social, mental and spiritual - must be considered as part of our recovery.

And so I want to acknowledge the unique approach to rehabilitative care that is being pioneered with the Cultural identity mapping process that Abano promotes. This is especially important knowing that 50% of the people coming here to Pumau te Aroha will be Maori.

As part of the ongoing mapping process staff have made a genuine commitment to understanding the holistic needs of the individuals and whanau who come here for care and support. In one situation a man sat in his room apparently talking to himself. As part of the cultural identity mapping, staff eventually realised that he was talking to his tupuna, whose photos were on the wall.

Nowadays, instead of trying to distract him, and get him to join in some other activity; the staff actually understand - and what's more - value the process he is following as helping to restore him, to the essence of who he is. The comfort he gains from his ancestors directly affects his attitudes, hopes, aspirations, and enthusiasm in such a way as to pave the path forward to a more promising future.

Today then, is a very important day to come together, to share our collective commitment to supporting people with brain injuries to gain greater independence in their day to day lives.

It is independence acquired through inter-dependence; the knowledge that each of us – providers, clients, families, funders, representatives from ACC, the DHBs, and healthcare professionals – fulfil a vital role in helping to clear the path forward.

It is important that the journey onwards is planned and supported in ways which best meet the needs of people with brain injuries and their whanau.

And so I return again, to the ultimate challenge for Pumau te Aroha – I wish you all well in your determination to just get back up and go with life.

Tena tatou katoa.

ENDS

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