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| Articles taken from the June 2004 Huntington's News. The Quarterly Newsletter of the Huntington's Disease Associations of New Zealand |
Regional
News
Auckland Wellington Waikato
Canterbury
The visits with families in Whangarei and Dargaville were friendly, supportive and positive. Most are enjoying their family activities and times together with the view to adding positive goals for worthwhile living. There was no need to extend the visits further north this year so the trip was an overnight stay for me in Whangarei.
The workshop-seminars for staff in residential care settings were so well attended on March 11th and 22nd, that a third was held on April 19th. In total seven in-service sessions at respective facilities have also been arranged. So, the workshop-seminars wi1l be offered again next year to cater for changes in staff and changes in placement of people with HD.
Our Saturday Seminar on March 20th was well attended and Kaye Dennison gave an informative session on Nutrition Needs. She encouraged discussion and so the people attending were able to share their knowledge and experiences as well as seek solutions to their problems. Much chatter over the shared lunch and doing the dishes in the kitchen followed.
Change in date of AGM: The AGM and accompanying talk by Professor Richard Faull will now be held on Saturday 3rd July at the Disability Resource Centre, 14 Erson Aye, Royal Oak.
New Field Officer appointment: It is with pleasure that we welcome Jo Dysart to the Auckland Office. Jo will be taking up some of the 20 hours currently available. The plan is to introduce Jo to the families living in West Auckland to start with and then for Beth and Jo to develop the services using all the skills they have collectively. So watch this development and further news. The office will continue to be open Wednesdays usually between 9.30 and 12.30 so drop in or phone.
Beth Gordon -
Field Officer
I am happy to be the new Support Coordinator for the MS Waikato Trust. My name is Diana Bird, and my background is in nutrition and psychology. I have worked for the Trust before on short-term contracts and as a volunteer and it is a pleasure to be a part of the team here. My hours are Mondays and Wednesdays 8:30am – 5pm and Friday mornings 8:30am-12:30pm, and I am contactable on either (07) 839 5506 or 027 428 7417.
My first Huntington’s Support Group meeting took place on the 22/3/04 and was well attended by both clients and carers. While it was mainly an introductory and ‘getting to know’ each other meeting, we also set times for future meetings and shared ideas on possible speakers for the rest of the year. Those there decided they wanted to meet bimonthly and so future meetings will be held on the second to last Monday of every second month. If you would like further details about our Huntington’s Support Group meetings, or have questions on any other aspect of our services at the Trust, please contact me on the numbers above.
The Wellington Association
advises clients that Rae Sellens, Social Worker for Wellington, has tendered her
resignation for family reasons. We thank her for her work over the past eight months
and wish her well.
A new Social Worker will be joining our team in mid July, until then, Dorothy Tortell will
be trying to visit and support as many families as possible, Should you have any concerns,
please don’t hesitate to call her any time on 027 4440 520 or 04 569 3252.
The new HD House has finally been given a name – “Amaryllis House”. This name is well known to most HD families worldwide. The construction of Amaryllis House is progressing well but the completion is running behind schedule. It is hoped that it will be ready for occupation towards the end of July.
The Wellington Association organised a meeting in April for the Chairpersons and Field/Social Workers of the three HD Associations. The meeting, which was the first such event, was a great success and we plan to repeat it regularly.
Best wishes to you all,
Dorothy Tortell
Senior Social Worker
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Greetings to all from Canterbury. We’ve had a taste of winter with sleet, snow
and freezing temperatures the last two weeks that has sent shock waves through us. An
early burst is a good reminder though of checking wood and gas stocks, warm clothing, etc.
and getting prepared for winter.
February was much cooler than
normal but we still managed to have our picnic as planned. Thankfully no rain on the day
but a cool breeze was prevalent. We found a sheltered spot among the rose bushes and 15 of
us gathered there and swapped food and news! Although numbers were small this year,
it is still believed to be a worthwhile activity and will be repeated next year.
Our annual fund raising movie
this year was “In America”. A good turnout but as we were competing with the
City to Surf fun day our numbers were not as high as usual, still we made a profit.
“In America” was a movie that touched everyone who saw it and I have to confess
that I was one of a number who made use of a hankie.
Thank you to everyone who
supported our activities, you are the people who make these occasions worthwhile.
The Christchurch AGM was held
on Sunday 2 May, at the Hornby Day Care Centre. Our guest speaker this year was Kathy
Jaegar from Lifelinks who spoke about the role Lifelinks plays in providing services to
people with disabilities including HD – a very important service.
Shirley Ward and myself
attended a meeting with other regional Chairpeople and Field Workers at the national
meeting that was held on Saturday 24 April at Frederick Wallis House in Lower Hutt,
Wellington.
Keep warm and best wishes from
Louise Boyle (Chairperson) and the Christchurch HD
Association