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Headway Newsletter : October 2003
Editorial
As can be seen from this newsletter, another very busy and eventful month has passed. We do love it when people praise us and enjoyed hearing from one of the helpers at the Craft Market how she loves coming to Headway because it is such a lively and happy place.
Which soothed our ruffled feathers when we had to field some criticism for the inadequacies of our transport service! There are certain days when there are just too many people needing a lift and we simply don’t have the capacity. The good news is that The National Lottery (bless their generous hearts!) have responded positively to our appeal for funding for a second vehicle and we hope to purchase another van as soon as this funding becomes available. In the meantime, please bear with us and if there is anyone reading this who could possibly help with a lift on our busy days (Tuesdays and Thursdays) PLEASE give us a call.
A visit from a past attendee at our Health Day in September has prompted us to plan a special day in early 2004 for any of our Headway folk who we no longer see on a regular basis. Once a date has been fixed we will send out invitations to our Interactive Coffee Morning – it will be on a Wednesday and we will be wanting to hear what has been happening in your lives since you were a regular attendee. So, if you work, warn your boss that you will need to have a day off in February for a VERY SPECIAL FUNCTION!!
Veronica
Welcome to…… the Headway Family this month: Aletta Faul, Rajiv Shah, Saleem Meer and Conrad Lamberz. We promise to do our very best to help you and your families in every way possible.
Activity Programme
OT Debbie reports: The OT Department has been strictly focussed during October on completing as many of the craftwork projects as possible in time for the Craft Market but we have managed to keep to our weekly programme to some extent.
Mondays: The Monday Aerobics sessions, aimed at getting rid of those Monday morning blues, have gained momentum and extra participants. Why not come and join us?
Tuesdays: Sounds of Christmas carols and songs reverberate throughout the house on Tuesdays as Mavis takes the group through preparations for Christmas Crackers 2003.
Some new songs are being worked on for this year and some of the old favourites are being re-worked ready for the concert on Friday 5 December.
Our Tuesday Speech Students visited for the last time this year at the end of October and our new Speech Therapist, Cheryl, has taken over the Group Sessions.
Wednesdays: Sewing, sewing, sewing with volunteer Rose Paterson as the group has been working flat out to produce items for the Craft Market. Please note that leftovers from the Craft Market are available for purchase at Headway so come and buy shopping bags and “wheatie bags” (you know those wonderful bags that you heat in the microwave oven and then apply to your aching back or neck or any other joint giving you grief?)
Thursdays: “The Yummy Taste Buds” cooking group have been working hard at bottling Lemon Curd in preparation for the Craft Market. Stop Press: There are still a few bottles left for sale! Another donation of bananas arrived from Waterfall Spar so a big bake took place on the last Thursday of October to give the Zimele children another banana bread treat.
The good news is that Irene Limbouris is back from Greece and has started Thursday pottery again. Welcome back Irene! We wish Bon Voyage to volunteer Jenny Smith who is emigrating to Australia and we thank her for all her wonderful help in the past with Headway pottery (and also for the very generous donation of her own unique pottery work for the Craft Market). Stop Press: Pop into Headway and buy some of this exclusive hand-painted silk-screen work – Jenny gave us such a lot that we still have plenty left to sell.
P.R for Headway
The Headway Psychology Department has been keeping the Public Relations Flag flying high this month!
Lifestyle Fair
On Friday 10 October, psychologist Linda Hiles organised for Headway to attend the Lifestyle Fair at Natal University Medical School (an Open Day for Third Year Medical Students). The aim of the Fair was to give the students an opportunity to see what organisations exist to help patients once they have been discharged by the doctors and hospitals. Sharing the platform with Headway were Lifeline, SANCA and FAMCA, the Open Door Crisis Centre and many others. Rose McArthur went along with some of the Headway attendees – Simon, Mandla, Cameron and Ntokozo – to assist in showcasing the work done by Headway. The students chatted with our guys and a couple of them were interviewed over the P.A. system.
Many of the students wanted to know why we only had a Headway in Westville and not in the townships or rural areas. It is a good question and we have put our thinking caps on!
Neurological Rehabilitation Conference
Rosanne Hardy represented Headway-Natal at a week-long conference in Gauteng this month. The Neurological Rehabilitation Conference from 20 to 24 October was attended by some 200 professionals including therapists, psychologists, neurologists and general practitioners. Posters highlighting the work carried out by the various therapy staff at Headway generated a fair amount of interest from the delegates and many questions were asked about ball therapy (physio) and our bee-keeping project (OT).
Space does not permit too detailed a report on all that Rosanne learnt at this conference but a few of the more interesting facts follow. Key-note speakers included world-renowned neuropsychologist Anne-Lise Christensen from Denmark and South African born Peter Disler who lives in Australia. Rosanne is familiar with their work, as both are experts in neurological rehabilitation.
Peter’s philosophy is that, while recognising that a psychological reaction following traumatic brain injury (TBI) is inevitable, medication management should be conservative. A recurring theme of the conference was that the most effective approach to rehabilitation is for the therapist to consider the perspective of the patient and “walk in his shoes” – mirror his or her world as closely as possible and make the therapy appropriate for that person’s interests and former lifestyle: new learning is very difficult, so focus on information already learned and build on that. Rosanne believes that one of the strengths of Headway-Natal is that our therapists are able to work as a team – an aspect of rehab that is not available in private practice.
Calling all Headway Volunteers!
Rosanne has started a Volunteers Training Programme on Thursdays from 8.00-9.30 a.m. Readers may remember that in the past we have often tried to organise some training for our volunteers and the courses were always offered for a fee. Thanks to our stable financial situation, volunteer training is now offered free of charge. If you would like to join in the training programme, please just let us know – you will be more than welcome!
Fund Raising
Headway Craft Market
The much publicised Craft Market took place on the last Saturday in October and as this report from Rose McArthur will tell you, it was an outstanding success!
What a wonderful day! It really exceeded our expectations! Firstly, we had the most tremendous support in preparation for the day (a HUGE thankyou to all concerned); we had a terrific turnout on the day (we think at least 300 people attended); we had glorious weather; and all the hard work more than paid off as we shared a really enjoyable morning.
Where do I start the list of thank you’s? Firstly, I think, thanks must go to the staff, attendees and volunteers at Headway for their support and hard work. It has been such a bonus to see all that was achieved, plus the great amount of satisfaction and feelings of well-being, which have been in such abundance here at Headway. I hesitate to single out any particular person or people, since, inevitably, I may offend or omit. And the reality is that so many people helped in so many different ways. We were actually quite overwhelmed at the support we received, not only on the day but in the weeks leading up to the day. The response to our request for books was SUPERB!! – to the extent that we made over R2 000 on our bookstall!!
People baked, sewed, potted plants, sorted goods for selling, and donated to the various stalls – particularly our Second Hand Shop. On the day, we had the most marvellous group of volunteers who ran the different stalls and contributed to the overall success and happiness of the day.
And now I guess you’d like to know what our profit was? Our profit for the day was R8 316.34 but we have continued to sell some of the items that were left and only decided to close the Craft Market account at the end of October. The final figure is R9 468.34. A magnificent effort from a great team and support group.
AN ENORMOUS THANK YOU TO YOU ALL.
A very special vote of thanks to Rose McArthur and Rose and Stan Paterson who masterminded the event and whose tireless efforts made the Craft Market such a winner.
In addition to the impressive amount raised at our main fund-raiser this month, smaller amounts have contributed to our fund-raising efforts: Jumble (R30.00), Collection Tins (R250.00 thanks to Mndeni Meats), Funny Money Jar (R53.00), Proudly South African Pins (R120.00), the Headway Shop (R1284.00) and Raffle Ticket Sales (R94.00). Did you know that we have two raffles on the go at the moment? - the Waterscape Painting by Glenys Flack and a very appealing Quilt depicting storybook characters (made by Rose Paterson).
Donations
The most exciting donation we received this month was R24 000.00 from The Victor Daitz Foundation. One of the trustees came to visit Headway in August and must have thought we were doing a worthwhile job! The Trust has also promised to fund the cost of the wheelchair trailer which had to be custom built for the Toyota Condor. We are very grateful indeed for this demonstration of faith in our organisation. What is so great is that there are also many Friends of Headway who give us smaller amounts that all add up to helping us to keep going and this month, we thank the following:
Cindy Goodman, Mr & Mrs Whiting, Joanne Fanner, Eve Coombe, Aileen Salmon, Dain van der Reyden, Shirley Warne and Natal Accounting Services for their donations. The monthly cheques from Peter Gillitt and Ubuntu Community Chest are put into our special fund for needy people. Our sincere thanks for making this fund possible.
More Thankyous!
Paper! Paper! … and more Paper!
We have been very fortunate this month to receive substantial paper donations. Our good friend Wally Blom of Print Connections reacted in his usual positive way to our bleat that our paper was about to run out (the man has a huge heart!) and then Mondi Paper at Merebank responded to a request for damaged paper which had been sent to them some time ago. The amount of paper we received from Mondi should keep us going for many months and we thank both these kind benefactors for this wonderful generosity.
UBUNTU Day of Caring
Visitors to Headway House in the past couple of weeks will have noticed that our foyer has had a facelift! Thanks to an initiative of The Community Chest, a group from Spar Head Office arrived at our premises on Wednesday 22 October armed with cans of paint and varnish, ready to carry out the work we had requested (we supplied the brushes, rollers, sandpaper and lunch). The ten Spar staff members rolled up their sleeves and painted the foyer (it was meant to be white and grey but somehow came out blue!), sanded and painted the old wooden tables and chairs on the pool terrace, and painted our rusty, chipped front gate.
We thank leader Dilip Ramnath and his team of enthusiastic co-workers who gave up a whole day to brighten up our lives and to show they care about people in the community. We also appreciate the amount of organisation that went into organising this Day of Caring and thank Margie Boardman of Ubuntu and Ken Naicker of Dulux Paint & Paper in Greyville for donating the paint and varnish.
Headway Outreach
Headway’s involvement with Zimele and our support for this centre in Molweni continues to be meaningful. This month, the long-awaited joint outing to the beach took place. We had been collecting towels and swimming togs for months in anticipation of the day and had reached our target of 30 towels. Thank you to all the kind people who have donated in response to the appeals we have sent out.
Weatherwise, Friday 17 October could not have been a worse day, with a howling gale, squalling rain and a chilly 19ºC (and that was out of the wind!). Frantic phone calls took place the night before and at dawn on the morning of the outing, and we debated whether we should call it off.
The taxis had been booked and the children were so excited that we decided to go ahead and pack blankets along with the 9 dozen filled rolls, packets of chips and sweets and bottles of juice.
The 3 “boom box” taxis could be heard approaching Brighton Beach and the children were all in party mood when they arrived. Beach games and sand castle building followed a talk by the local lifeguard (who forbade even a paddle in the huge seas) and then most of us ended up in the paddling pool to escape from being sandblasted by the windblown sand. The pool was freezing, but the water slide provided a lot of fun and we were glad that we had packed some blankets.
As a joint Headway-Zimele outing we did not achieve what we had hoped for, as it was far too cold for the guys in wheelchairs; they had to hole up in the local “greasy spoon” at Ansteys Beach which, due to a power failure, couldn’t serve hot drinks! Not our day, obviously, but the children enjoyed the outing and change of scenery. They also now understand and accept the principle of “postpone if weather inclement”!!
For Zimele
We would like to record our gratitude to the 1st Berea West Cubs who adopted Zimele Molweni as a project. Jenny Stanley who is the leader of this very active and enthusiastic group of youngsters wanted the boys to do something special for a needy community and Zimele was chosen for this project (initially with the Beach Outing in mind).
The boys adopted the letter “T” for their theme and collected all sorts of things beginning with this letter: Toys, Tins, Towels, Togs, Treats and Treasure Chest. The tins have been invaluable for supplementing the feeding scheme, the towels and togs meant that every child had a swimming costume and a towel for the outing, and the treats provided the chips, sweets and juice for lunch at the beach. The pleasure this project has given to the Zimele staff and children is enormous and we applaud the efforts of the 1st Berea West Cubs.
P.S. Did any readers of the Highway Mail spot the lovely photograph of the handover in early October?
Our Poet Laureate
It is months since we heard from our Headway Poet, Kevin Hollinshead who, because he is unable to communicate through the spoken word, uses his electronic “Lightwriter” and a facilitator (usually Headway psychologist Rosanne) to compose his blank verse. As always Kevin gives us unique insight into how he views his world, and in this particular piece makes it very clear why he becomes angry if the file of his life story and photographs is taken away from him for any reason. Kevin’s file takes the place of his memory!
My Hipppocampus, My File
It puts me in context
Reminds me of who I am.
Dog-eared sleeves
And upside-down poems.
My history, my being.
Information Corner
For a change, there is space in this newsletter for some information pertinent to what makes Headway “tick”. The following two articles are taken from the publication “Longevity” and were kindly passed on to us by Helen Lynn. Both articles indicate that research into the treatment of brain injury and strokes continues to fuel hope for sufferers.
New Therapy for the Brain
Until recently, little in the form of treatment could be offered for traumatic injuries to the brain. Now there may be hope with an experimental study where the answer appears to lie in bone marrow.
Researchers at the Henry Ford Health Sciences Center in Detroit, USA, designed a study to evaluate the effect of marrow stromal cells injected into a rat following traumatic brain injury. Bone marrow is the source for white blood cells, red blood cells, platelets and stem cells. Stem cells are part of a group referred to as marrow stromal cells. Researchers focused on these specific cells because they can be isolated quite easily.
Female rats that had a brain injury were injected with marrow stromal cells from male rats. Neurological function of rats was measured, as was the number of male donor cells. Researchers reported that motor and neurological problems were reduced after the marrow cells were injected.
This treatment shows promise for people who suffer from traumatic brain injury. Transplantation of this nature is being used on patients with cancer, but further investigation for human patients with brain injuries is necessary.
Stroke Treatment for the Future
The human umbilical cord – life source for unborn babies – could be the key to a future treatment for stroke victims. According to researchers, rats injected with umbilical cord blood cells within 24 hours of having had a stroke fared better than rats treated later.
A study carried out by researchers at the Henry Ford Health Science Center sought to determine whether the cord blood cells could survive and thrive in the central nervous system.
Human umbilical cord cells were injected into the tails of rats that had suffered a stroke. The cells travelled directly to the brains of the animals and began repairing the damage. Researchers concluded that the cells survive, migrate to the damaged area and improve functional activity.
They believe it happens because the cells enhance brain regeneration. The exact mechanism sparking this is unclear. If this research proves successful in humans, transplanting cord cells may one day be used for the recovery of stroke victims.
Chat Room for Brain Injury Survivors
The information given below came from the monthly newsletter of Headway Gauteng and they would love some feedback from anyone who tries out the chat room - please contact us at Headway-Natal and we will pass any information on to our friends on the highveld.
There is now an internet Chat Room specifically for brain injury survivors. This is a 24-hour service and counsellors are on hand to give advice if necessary. Brain injured people from all over the world are logging on and deriving great comfort from discussing their problems and ways of overcoming them. The website is monitored so there is no flirting or swearing!
Try it out on: www.braininjurychat.org
Please make a note of all the important Headway dates for the next few weeks:
Friday 5 December at 6.00 p.m.
Christmas Crackers 2003: Headway’s Annual Christmas concert featuring a programme of festive music, a selection of Headway Music Group’s favourites and various novel items. Don’t miss this wonderful chance to get into a festive mood and experience a foretaste of the magic of Christmas! Please bring a Plate of Eats for Bring and Share. Liquid refreshments will be provided by Headway.
Wednesday 3 December from 10.00-11.00 a.m.
Music in the Mall: The Music Group will be performing in the Westville Mall and would love some extra voices to sing along.
Friday 12 December at 11.30 a.m.
Norman’s Braai: It is closing day for the Christmas Break and our good friend Norman is hosting a braai for us at Headway House. All our welcome but PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU ARE COMING so that we know how much meat to order! Cool drinks will be on sale.
Headway Closes : Friday 12 December 2003
Headway Re-opens: Tuesday 6 January 2004
Back Page Chuckle
Great Truths about Growing Old
- When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you’re down there.
- It’s frustrating when you know all the answers but nobody bothers to ask you the questions.
- Time may be a great healer, but it’s a lousy beautician.
- Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone!
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