Victoria Carter receives her Gold Award from the Duke of Edinburgh, circa 1981. Photo / Supplied
OPINION:
The Duke of Edinburgh taught me compassion. When he died I thought about his wonderful contribution with the Duke of Edinburgh Award. A programme designed to give young people experiences outside the classroom to become committed, responsible and fulfilled citizens of the world.
My community service was teaching Sunday school to under 6's for a few years. When I reached Gold level and needed to do a week-long tramp I found that in its place I could do a longer stint of community service. I chose the nearby Ravensthorpe psychiatric hospital and I approached the superintendent to help out as a nurse aide.
Looking back I think the nurses wanted to see if I was really up for it. I was put into the psychiatric geriatric ward, a large unisex ward with about 50 or more elderly. Day one I was shown how to tie the big toes together before rigor mortis set in. I was given other challenges which at the time I just thought were normal. I certainly didn't enjoy the first day, I felt very uncomfortable most of the day, but to their surprise I was back next morning.
It was an incredibly rich and rewarding experience and I developed great admiration for the nurses, mostly women.
It was a very routine focused day, nurses got patients out of bed, toileted, bathed in a communal bathroom with giant baths, put into shared clothes, fed and left in chairs in a large sitting area. Without specific duties the nurses would get me to entertain, chat to and amuse the elderly. Sometimes, I played the piano as they sat around the living room.
I began to learn a little more about the people I was working for, the brilliant mathematician whose life stopped when he was injured in a car accident. He loved being given a piece of paper to draw complicated formulas which no longer made sense. There was the man who asked to see your feet and toes every day. There was the old lady who I was asked to remove from the toilet. She gave me a good thump in the stomach as I tried to coach her off the seat. Looking back I would want to be left alone too.
At the end of my service I had grown so attached to the patients I asked if they would like me for a bit longer and I even went back a few more times in other school holidays.
It was a huge shock and a great eye-opener to see how we treated the elderly and the psychiatric unwell. So perhaps it's no surprise that 30 years on I am doing whatever I can to keep the Laura Fergusson Auckland home open. This was a facility built in a middle-class community for physically and intellectually disabled people to live reasonably independently and safely.
I have lived near Laura Fergusson for over 25 years. I've seen the physically disabled with their carers going to the shops, sitting in their wheelchairs on the pavement for a change of scenery. I've known many people who've injured themselves use the gym and swimming pool. It was good to see the people who lived there coping with their lives not locked away, but part of our world.
Just as importantly it meant that young people who had life-changing accidents had somewhere to go to learn how to live again, amongst others their own age, with specialist equipment to assist and help them build new strength.
It was easy for their family to visit, on a main bus route with two train stations nearby. There was the dairy across the road, bakeries, cafes and supermarket not far.
For 50 years the people of Auckland cared about them, fundraised for buildings and special disabled equipment, a carefully designed swimming pool, gym. The present Laura Fergusson Board, some of whom have been there for over 15 years have decided to shut it. They claim the Government wasn't giving them enough money. Yet at no time, did they tell us, the community which has cared and supported them since 1967, of the challenges they faced.
Lady Fergusson, the then Governor General's wife, had seen young disabled adults in rest homes. She founded the trust with the ASB, Rotary Club, Auckland Sheltered Workshop, Multiple Sclerosis Society, Spastic Fellowship, Baptist Union, Disabled Citizens Society, Catholic Social Services, Murray Halberg Trust, Crippled Children, IHC, Zonta Club and the Paraplegic Association.
Over the years thousands of people and families benefited from this vision. Yes, times have changed, and Government is more involved in healthcare. What hasn't changed is that young people should not be placed in rest homes.
That's why we have a petition and rally on Sunday to ask the Government to step in. This 50 year legacy built with Auckland fundraising must not be lost.
• Victoria Carter is a company director with a disabled family member and friends who relied on the Laura Fergusson facilities. As an Auckland City Councillor she worked closely with the trust to get better pavements and crossings.