Tornado survivor Tina Johnson plans fundraiser for Mangawhai emergency services

Tina Johnson has organised a fashion parade to raise funds for the Mangawhai emergency services and give back to the community which she says has been a pillar of support. Photo / Brodie Stone

A woman who survived being pulled into the eye of a tornado has organised a fashion parade fundraiser for the emergency services that helped save her life.

Tina Johnson made headlines earlier this year after she was thrown from her Mangawhai home as a tornado tore through the coastal community in the early hours of January 26.

Now, Johnson wants to give back to those who came to her aid and make sure they have all the tools they need to continue their life-saving work.

On August 30, 200 people will pile into the Mangawhai Club for a night of fashion, raffles, an auction and food.

Various local businesses had come on board, with local models set to walk the runway and giveaways for attendees.

It was with the help of many that she was able to get the event up and running, Johnson said.

“It hasn’t been like working, it’s just been something nice to look forward to,” she said.

A friend and local business owner would MC the event, but Johnson said she would get up at some point to share her story.

“Which most people will know anyway, but at least they’ll get it from the horse’s mouth,” she said.

Although it was a way to give back, planning the event was what had kept her going, Johnson said.

She used to manage the Mangawhai Club and during those five years had done a lot of fundraising for the community.

She felt it was good to put those skills to use.

When Johnson first got out of the hospital, she was in a wheelchair and living with friends for about eight weeks.

She ended up back in hospital with a leg infection around Easter.

Then, in May, she moved into a two-bedroom unit thanks to another good mate.

That was when she put her mind to planning the fundraiser.

Tina Johnson's miraculous tale of survival captured Northland after she was pulled into the Mangawhai tornado earlier this year. She wants to give back to the emergency services and community that have supported her. Photo / Brodie Stone

Although it’s been just over six months since her life changed, even doctors have commented on how remarkably well she was doing.

But going to regular appointments, physical therapy, scans and more was a fulltime job, and exhausting at times.

Some ongoing symptoms – such as a concussion – had left Johnson frustrated.

“Things that I used to do in my sleep [that] just take forever,” she said.

And of course, the mental scars had remained.

Tina Johnson and her father's home was destroyed by the Mangawhai tornado earlier this year. Photo / Hayden Woodward

“A few weeks ago, up in Mangawhai, they said there were 100km/h gusts homing. So it was a horrible night.

“I locked myself in the bathroom because it’s in the middle of the house,” she said.

There had been a few nights like that with “horrible winds” that had kept her up.

“At times I haven’t slept because of it.”

She’d also been dealing with a back injury and had slipped a disc several times.

Johnson said she still had a few operations ahead, such as fixing ligaments in her knee.

“It can be two steps forward, one step back, but you know, it’s just being positive. There’s nothing I can do about it, I just have to keep moving forward.”

Johnson said that had always been her approach to life.

“When they said ‘okay, we’re going to try and teach you to walk’, and stuff like that, it’s like, ‘Yeah! Let’s go,” Johnson said.

“Hence [the] fashion parade as well, I’ve always had the drive to do things, [but] I need my biggest drive now to fix myself.”

The fashion parade will be hosted at the Mangawhai Club from 1pm on August 30. Tickets can be purchased for $45 at the club.

Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.