Headway Natal

Headway Newsletter : January 2004

EDITORIAL 2004!!

It'll be February by the time most of you are reading this, so it's perhaps a bit late to wish everyone a good and happy New Year, and by now most of us will have got out of holiday mode and got back into normal routine. For those who have experienced a brain injury, the return to normality is a huge relief as it usually brings the return of social contact. Christmas and New Year can often be a very lonely time for people with a brain injury, so we are very conscious of starting off the year with lots of new ideas. This year we plan to continue with our craft work since we discovered last year just how productive our attendees can be. (We also plan another Craft Market for the end of September this year. More details as the plans unfold). Our website is growing - have you visited it yet? We're always open to suggestions and ideas and the more diverse we can become, the better. We also hope to organise lots of outings, talks, socials and informative "National Days", to mention just a few of our ideas. This hopefully will make for an interesting and fruitful year, plus good reading for our members! Here's to a really happy and successful year to all. Rose.

General Meetings

This year we are starting off with a new meeting schedule. The meetings are continuing, but in the mornings! This will be on the first Friday every month, so get out your diaries and year planners, and diarise each first Friday for the rest of the year. We will be starting with a most interesting talk on diet - should be close to most people's hearts!! - on Friday 6th February, from 11h00 till 12h15. Entitled "You are what you eat…and drink too! You have a right to know all the facts!", this talk will be given by Georgina Thornell. Georgina, known to most of us as the local radiation activist, is now a Living Well Consultant. She has been investigating yet another contributing factor to our ill health as a society today, namely the problem foods and fluids we consume on a daily basis. Working with well-known and highly-respected Clinical Nutritionalist, Sally-Ann Creed - author of the best-selling book "Let Food be your Medicine" - Georgina will present us with facts about the food we eat and the fluids we drink, and the profound effect they may have on our health. She will also share the basics required for vibrant and healthy living, naturally. Anyone who would be interested in attending will be very welcome.

We are also starting a monthly Coffee Morning on the first Saturday each month which will be an opportunity for carers and families to come along and just chat and spend time with others who have gone through or are going through similar experiences. Saturday 7th February, at 10h00 at Headway House. The Coffee Mornings will last about 1 hour, (or longer if necessary), and will include a cup of tea/coffee, and a chance to share and care. As always, all are welcome.

Reunion lunch

Over the years, many people have come to Headway for many different reasons. Some have suffered a head injury; some are the families/carers. Some are the volunteers who have helped us to offer many different skills to make life more interesting and entertaining. Very often you will hear one of us saying "…I wonder what happened to ???" or "I wonder where ??? is now, and how he/she is?" Often our ex-attendees are held up as an inspiration and example to those who are currently attending Headway. So we decided that we'd arrange a sort-of get together/reunion lunch and invite as many of our "oldies" - in the nicest sense of the word!! - so that we can catch up with all the news and progress. Invitations are being sent to as many people as we can find from our records, but if you're reading this, you fall into the "oldie" category and an invitation doesn't reach you, please phone us and let us know you'd like to attend. The date, time and details are as follows:

Friday 25th February: 12h30 for 13h00: "Bring and Share Lunch" -
(we'll provide tea/coffee/cool drinks)

We sincerely hope to see as many of you as possible so we can catch up on your news.

Condolences

Our heartfelt wishes are with one of our attendees, Nikki Draper, who so sadly and unexpectedly lost her mother, Rita, very recently. It has been a huge shock, and we can only offer to help Nikki in whatever way she might need us. We send our deepest sympathy to Nikki, Peter Kok and the family.

News from New Zealand

One of our volunteers, Jenny Kriste, went over to Auckland in New Zealand last November to visit family and to spend some time with her new granddaughter twins! As if being a granny isn't enough to keep one very busy, Jenny found time to contact the Brain Injury Association of New Zealand and spent a most informative and beneficial time with Harley Pope, who is the national chairman of the association. There are also Stewart Centres which are similar to our Headway. She was taken on a tour of 2 different Stewart Centres, one in Epsom and one in Papatuitui. Jenny also visited the recently-opened Headway House in Epsom. This is actually more of an administration centre. Jenny said that one of the first things to strike her was the large numbers of people in wheelchairs in all the shopping centres. Overall, the disabled people are far more "public" in New Zealand - perhaps this has a lot to do with finance and first world conditions? Also, people are not referred to as "disabled"; they are referred to as "disadvantaged".

The Brain Injury Association of New Zealand is multi-functional in that they are firstly a support system, they do the advocacy for their clients and, just in the Auckland area alone, they have 4 Liaison Officers who travel between their four centres. These officers help with things such as support, transport, supporting clients at court hearings, referring clients to other services etc etc. - (all free to the clients!).

The Brain Injury Association of New Zealand receives 25% funding from the Accident Rehabilitation and Compensation fund and 20% Government funding - and this obviously makes a huge difference. (Headway here is a charity which receives absolutely no government funding, and is entirely dependent on fund-raising.) The rest of their money is raised by fund-raising, including street collections using buckets for the money!! Perhaps we should follow their example?? Certainly worth a try even if only for the novelty value! On her tours of the Stewart Centres, Jenny was both fascinated and impressed to see what was being done, and the level of dignity which was accorded to all the clients at all times. They seem to do very similar activities to the ones which we do, such as cookery, crafts, art, gardening, computers, games (like scrabble etc.), and they all have their lunch at the centre.

The big difference there is that they don't have the domestic help which we are all so used to here, so they have rosters for preparing, cooking and cleaning and everyone has to take their turn. As with South Africa, and I believe world-wide, the majority of the clients are young men. Listening to all Jenny had to say about treatment and facilities for TBI in New Zealand, I really had the feeling that we're not really that far behind here - but I must qualify that by saying that we have far too few centres (Headways) in South Africa! With Durban being such a large city, it stands to reason that we have a branch of Headway here, however to set up other branches would take a great deal of money and resources.

I feel strongly that this is a challenge which should be addressed. Comments / suggestions / offers of help would be appreciated. Grateful thanks to Jenny for being our ambassador in New Zealand, and for taking such a positive interest on our behalf. (I intend to establish email contact with Harley Pope, the chairman of the B.I.A. NZ. and hope to be able to run an update in our newsletters. Rose)

(By way of clarifying Headway and Brain Injury Associations, Headway was started in the UK in 1978 out of the need to establish some sort of support organisation for people with an acquired brain injury. Headway here in SA is an off-shoot of the UK Headway and we share the same ideals and similar mission statements. We are not a Rehabilitation Centre. (The fact that we have therapists is our cherry on top). In New Zealand, there is the Head Injury Society of New Zealand and the Brain Injury Association of New Zealand. They basically fulfil the same functions and maintain a close relationship while respecting their differences. Perhaps we could liken it to Headway and B.I.G. in SA.)

Donations

We have had a generous start to the year. Donations this (short) month amounted to R3370,00 and this was made up of our usual Friendship Pledges, R1000 from Ubuntu Community Chest (which goes into our fund for our indigent clients), donations of R1040 from Georgina Thornell and R1000 from Francis & Barbara Hanauer plus a donation of R30 from the Frangipani Club's use of our premises. Westville Hardware donated a lovely picnic basket to us, and this will form part of a new raffle. (see below). Our grateful thanks to all.

Fund-raising

Fund-raising this month has brought in R755. This was raised collectively by: Shop Sales - R465; sale of crafts - R163; sales of the diaries/journals - R50; sale of cards - R45, and sale of E-Pap - R32. Quite a confident start to the year!! As everyone knows, Fund-raising is the mainstay of all Charities, and this year we are hoping to have several different events, apart from our on-going raffles. Mention has been made of the fact that we're planning another Craft Market for the end of September, and as far as we're concerned, it is never too soon to start preparations. So, if you're good with your hands, please take note and make a start! We have already started at Headway!!

The Wednesday Sewing Group

So much is happening in our Sewing Group! Those familiar with Headway will know what wonderful work and excellent products come from our sewing group. We have been most fortunate to receive offcuts and oddments of material from Catherine Brown - (also some beautiful dried flowers and some goods for our shop) - plus material from a friend of Jessica Perritt. We have received 4 sewing machines: a Baby Elna from Marie Potgieter, an Elna and an Empisal from Gori Noormohamed (in exchange for our knitting machine which has stood, unused, for the past few years!!) and one from Viv Clements. Due to our fortune, we have given the Empisal and the machine from Viv to Zimele - our outreach project. We also received 2 lovely sewing machines + cabinets, one from Paddy Freese and one from Mrs Parsons. We really are thrilled to receive all this, and the sewing group will be kept busy for quite some time to come.

The good news doesn't stop here! In July this year, the Natal Quilters Guild will be holding a big National Show in the ICC in Durban. One of their undertakings is to run an outreach programme, and they can take 30 people only on their course. Rose Patterson has decided to put forward the name of one of our attendees, Cheryl Pretorius, as a possible candidate. If she is successful, Gori - mentioned above - has offered to sponsor Cheryl. Gori is the manager of JG's Sew & Knit Centre in Kings Road, Pinetown and has been a really good friend to Headway. I couldn't make up my mind whether this paragraph should go under "Donations" since it really is a list of wonderful donations. However, since it is mainly concerned with our Sewing Group, I decided to make a separate heading. And so, the list continues!!

In response to an article in the Highway Mail after our Craft Market, several members of the public phoned and donated fabric paints and lots of Christmas material. Lastly, Glenda Kirkiridis donated quite a large amount of AMAFU Hand-dyed Fabrics for the sewing group to make at least one quilt, and possibly two. Once one is made, it will be put with the Picnic Basket as a Picnic Quilt, and this will then be raffled. Obviously there's going to be no shortage of projects and ideas for the Sewing Group this year so we look forward to seeing the fruits of their handiwork!

Occupational Therapy Update (from our O.T. Debbie Fewster)

"Well, the Headway O.T. Department has started off with a bang! We have a new group called "Survivor 2004" and to kickstart the group, Zipho and the gang made laminated book marks, while using the opportunity to remind everyone of the importance and significance of keeping a diary. Other topics to be discussed in the "Survivor 2004" group include: How to use an ATM safely; How to make appointments; How to use e-mail etc.

On the 2nd February, we are starting a 6-Week Personal Growth Course at Headway and we'll be dealing with topics such as: Anger Management, Self Image and Self Knowledge. This course will be run on Mondays, from 09h30 to 10h30. Please phone us if you would be interested in attending. Our Friday programme is an exciting one with outings planned, on alternate Fridays, to places such as the Botanic Gardens, the beach, Wilson's Wharf etc. We've lined up a guest speaker from CROW and also our good friend, Jean Senogles. On the first Friday every month we'll be continuing our General Meetings in the morning. Our last Friday was a "Getting to Know You" morning where we all shared where we come from, some information about how we came to Headway, and about our aspirations.
2004 is going to be a good year!!"

From the Internet

The following article was taken from an American website, however the information is every bit as relevant to our sports scene here in South Africa.

"SPORTS-RELATED CONCUSSIONS"

"Whether it is a weekend touch football game or a college football game, getting hit in the head can have serious consequences. Dr. David Smith, Chancellor of the Texas Tech University System, said that heading right back into the game is not the smartest move. According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 300,000 sports-related concussions occur annually in the USA. Dr. Richard Homan, dean of the School of Medicine at the Texas Tech Medical Centre, said a concussion should not be taken lightly. 'A concussion is the result of a brain injury. It's a result of a blow to the head.

Sometimes people think that a concussion only occurs when you have loss of consciousness or get knocked out. But more subtle signs can be just as serious. And those can be memory loss or confusion, nausea or vomiting or dizziness,' Homan said. A recent study showed that players with previous concussions were more likely to have future head injuries. Homan said that the first blow could cause the basic symptoms. The second blow could cause more severe injuries. The report recommends that there be a 7 - 10 day waiting period after a concussion to prevent the "second impact syndrome". 'Remember,' Smith said, 'if you are a sportsman/woman and you suffer head trauma that results in a concussion, don't get back on the field too early.

Fatigue, difficulty sleeping, headaches, balance problems and blurred vision are other symptoms of a concussion. It is important to note that some athletes in the study who suffered a concussion experienced a delayed onset of symptoms, and returned to the game. Dr Smith adds that sometimes it may take up to three hours or more to begin to notice symptoms."

Backpage snippets

A 6-week series called Brain Story has just started on SABC 2. The series attempts to explain the current state of knowledge in the neurosciences, a discipline that has made stunning advances over the last 20 years. It explores the structure and function of the brain, the myriad ways in which this immensely complex structure can go wrong, and the ingenious methods which research scientists have used to figure out how our signal organ works. Watch this series on Thursday evenings at 22h00.

The latest news on Sandi Smith is that she is really doing very well. She has her ups and downs, but considering just how seriously ill she was last year, she's made an amazing recovery. Hopefully, this will be a great year for her and she'll go from strength to strength.

We continue to look for a camera for Headway. We're not looking for a state-of-the-art model, just a straightforward one which will enable us to keep a visual record of Headway's happenings. Any offers?? Please phone Headway.

It is still early enough in the year to end our first newsletter of 2004 with something inspirational and possibly goal-setting. I came across the following recently, and although not new, I feel it deserves another reading.

DESIDERATA

Go placidly amid the noise and haste and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly and listen to others; even the dull and ignorant, they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others you may become vain, and bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career; however humble it is a real possession in the changing fortune of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection.

Never be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the council of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortunes.
But do not distress yourself with imaginings.
Many fears are born to fatigue and loneliness. Beyond wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the Universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the Universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labours and aspirations in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace with your Soul.
With all it sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.