Ashburton Guardian YOU Magazine November 20, 2021

you

SATURDAY,NOVEMBER20,2021

AND YOUR LIFESTYLE

A LIFE on Hold Nikki Tyrrell’s horrific journey

PHOTO MADDISON GOURLAY

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YOU AND YOUR LIFESTYLE | Saturday, November 20, 2021

Debilitating and frustrating are only some of the words that come to Ashburton resident Nikki Tyrrell when talking about her experience of suffering from chronic Illness over the last two decades. Nikki left high school a talented scholar and musician, with the dream of being a vet, and now rarely leaves her house. YOU reporter Maddison Gourlay caught up with Nikki on a good day, with little to no flare-up and the ability to handle the tiring task of sharing her story.

Nicky’s 20 P

in ‘lockdo

rior to becoming ill, Ashburton’s Nikki Tyrrell had life all mapped out.

She was once very active in Ashburton’s sporting community, excelling academically and in the performing arts. In 1999, her first year at veterinary school, she started to feel unwell.

She pushed through, receiving top marks.

“Life came crashing down at the end of 2000, I collapsed on the shearing shed floor and was unable to get back up,” she said.

“An eventual diagnosis of post-viral Myalgic encephalomyelitis was made, but myself and my parents, who support me, were left to our devices.

“No treatment, next to no support.” myalgic encephalomyelitis is a chronic fatigue syndrome which often leaves people bedridden, no amount of sleep can help recovery. In Nikki’s case, she was completely housebound, unable to leave the house.

“At best I struggled to shower once a week, and I would often pass out just trying to crawl six steps to the bathroom toilet from my bed,” she said.

Nikki’s condition eventually worsened, causing speech loss, upwards of eight seizures per day and, at times, had to be spoon fed, as she was unable to even lift a spoon.

“I would often pass out just trying to

‘

Effectively I have lived lockdown for 20 years and, so far, my lockdown has not ended. It’s time for breakthroughs

Singing was a big part of Nikki Tyrrell’s life in secondary school. Nikki would take part in college singing performances, orchestra and piano. Here she is performing Nella Fantasia

by Katherine Jenkins.

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Saturday, November 20, 2021 | YOU AND YOUR LIFESTYLE

19

years

down’

chew and swallow my food,” she said.

“But even in that state, I was not offered any funded home help or care and was often deemed fit for work, lazy, or work avoidant.

“To someone with such a drive and passion for life, and so much to live for, it has been devastating to be judged as a lay-about or as not wanting to get well.”

With no help through the public system, Nikki turned to self-funding treatments “to survive”.

Nikki’s annual medical costs are $20,000 a year, that covers treatments and specialists in New Zealand. These self-funded treatments have helped to some degree and Nikki said that without them her life quality “is infinitely worse”.

And government agencies would often deem her treatments “unnecessary”.

“I had to battle for them not to halt even my small living allowance,” Nikki said.

After already 14 years of chronic illness, Nikki tested positive for lyme disease and co-infections.

“We thought finally we would get some publicly-funded assistance and appropriate treatment, but yet again, we were denied,” she said.

“We were told that chronic lyme does not exist and it cannot be caught within Australia or New Zealand. “[This is] despite positive test results, and all the symptoms and responding to lyme treatment overseas.”

In 2019, Nikki self-funded treatment for lyme disease in the island country of Cyprus in

the eastern Mediterranean sea, which cost upwards of $60,000.

“This remains one of the best things I ever could have done. I am still extremely ill, yet it gave me a fighting chance and a slightly better quality of life,” she said.

“On a relative scale compared to the existence I was living; I have come a long way.

“I can shower myself, I do not use a walker or wheelchair all the time anymore, on a good day I can go for a short, gentle walk.”

Even with progress Nikki is still dependent on ongoing daily medical treatment, which is all self-funded, she said that without those treatments her heath would decline rapidly.

“Yet I remain, relative to any normal healthy life or quality of life, absolutely debilitated,” she said.

“Effectively I have lived lockdown for 20 years and, so far, my lockdown has not ended.

“It’s time for breakthroughs.”

Above left – Nikki Tyrrell in a hyperbaric chamber receiving hyperbaric oxygen, which she has five times a week.

Above right – Nikki Tyrrell in the place where she spends a lot of her time, resting unable to sleep.

Right – Nikki Tyrrell with assistance dog-in-training Jojo after Nikki’s forth PICC line insertion.

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The Arcade,Tancred Street, Ashburton 03 308 1872 • h2k11@xtra.co.nz Nikki Tyrrell on a good day, at the Sinclair Community Centre to play the piano.

20

YOU AND YOUR LIFESTYLE | Saturday, November 20, 2021

Fun, tasty treats I

for Christmas

n New Zealand we are lucky to celebrate the fes�ve season in the summer months when berries and lighter vegetables are in season and scream Christmas.

How ever you do Christmas, it’s bound to involve berries in some way or another, so here are a few simple recipes and �ps to fancy up your dinner table on the big day.

Santa hat white chocolate cheesecake bites

Add a fes�ve twist to a delicious white chocolate cheesecake to not only make it look amazing, but also taste mind-blowing.

Make it wear a cute li�le Santa hat using strawberries and whipped cream, thereby brightening up your Christmas with these santa hat cheesecake bites – a divine dessert taking just a couple of steps to prepare.

Chocolate dipped strawberry Christmas tree

Christmas just isn’t complete without a tree.

But, have you ever thought of making a tree out of lip-smacking strawberries dipped in delicious dark chocolate?

You need to be par�cular about the right size of papier mache cone and melted chocolate you’ll use. Pick an ideal size cone (about 20 to 25cm should be appropriate), chocolate melts and strawberries in all sizes, small, medium and big.

Lay out a layer of waxed paper

neatly over the tree, fix it to a doily for disguise with help of melted chocolate.

Place it on a cardboard round for stability.

Drape the tree with melted chocolate and fix large size strawberries to the base up and then con�nue with a medium sized in the centre with small ones reserved for the top.

Top the tree with stars made of chocolate and your breathtaking chocolate and strawberry Christmas tree is ready and irresis�ble.

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Saturday, November 20, 2021 | YOU AND YOUR LIFESTYLE

21

Chocolate Reindeer Cupcakes For the cupcakes: 1 1/4 C granulated sugar 1-3/4 C plain flour 1C cocoa 1 1/2 t baking powder 1 1/2 t baking soda 1t salt 2 eggs, room temperature* 1C bu�ermilk, room temperature* 1/2 C vegetable oil 2t vanilla extract 1C coffee, boiling hot Whipped chocolate fros�ng: 340g unsalted bu�er, so�ened 3C icing sugar 3/4 C cocoa powder 2t vanilla extract 1/8 C milk, or more To assemble: 24 vanilla wafers 23 brown M&Ms, or brown Reese’s Pieces 1 red M&M 48 candy eyes or white chocolate chips 24 pretzel twists, broken in half 1/2 C chocolate chips, melted – For the cupcakes: Heat oven to 180°C. Line muffin cups with cupcake liners.

– S�r together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, bu�ermilk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes.

– S�r in the boiling coffee (ba�er will be thin).

– Fill cups 2/3 full with ba�er. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely and then ice.

– For the icing: Beat bu�er on medium speed for two minutes.

Add the powdered sugar and whip un�l combined. Add the cocoa powder and whip un�l fully incorporated. Mix in the vanilla and milk.

– Add more milk if the fros�ng looks too dark. You want the colour to be light brown like milk chocolate mousse. Whip for one last minute.

– To assemble: Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Carefully break pretzels into large antlers (I overbroke several pretzels before I got

Strawberry Christmas Tree Brownie Bites Charm your Christmas party dinner with some miniature Christmas trees, that are actually brownie bites topped with a sweet strawberry and covered in deligh�ul bright-green icing.

What’s great is that this recipe is so easy to put together that your li�le ones can also give you a hand in decora�ng their mini-Christmas tree bites.

You don’t even have to make the brownie if you don’t want to and it will s�ll be a hit on Christmas Day.

it just right, so you may want to be prepared with extra pretzels).

Dip the tops of the antlers in the melted chocolate and place on the baking sheet and place in the fridge to harden.

– Generously ice the cupcake with chocolate icing.

– Place the mini vanilla wafer near the bo�om centre of the cupcake.

Place a small amount of the frosting on to the back of the red or brown M&M and a�ach it to the top centre of the vanilla wafer.

– Once the chocolate has hardened to the antlers, remove them from the fridge and a�ach the pretzels

–

– – –

at the top of the cupcake, pointing diagonally outward or inward (whatever you prefer).

A�er the pretzel antlers are arranged, add the M&M or candy eyes into place.

Notes To bring eggs to room temperature, place them in a glass of hot water for 5 minutes.

To bring the bu�ermilk to room temperature, place in the microwave for about 30 seconds.

The pretzel thins I used are the bite-size pretzel twists, but either thins or regular twists can be used.

22

YOU AND YOUR LIFESTYLE | Saturday, November 20, 2021

Summer’s on its FREE warming way

A

s temperatures rise and garden plants are burs�ng with new growth, the feeling that summer is just around the corner provides great relief! It is a busy and very rewarding �me in the garden.

Houseplants With houseplants in ac�ve growth, it’s �me to apply fer�liser!

Older houseplants, or those that have outgrown their pots may require repo�ng – consider the size of the new pot to allow for future root growth. Always use fresh po�ng mix specifically developed for indoor plants to provide perfect drainage and nutrients.

Vege patch The summer vegetables planted last month will be rapidly growing. Con�nue with plan�ngs of beans, beetroot, cabbage, celery, corn, cucumber, courge�es, le�uce, peas, pumpkin, radish, spring onions, spinach, tomatoes, silverbeet and zucchini.

Inspect your vegetable plants regularly for signs of pests and diseases, especially slugs and snails that are already very ac�ve. Water plants when required to ensure steady, strong growth and apply a thick layer of mulch to improve water

reten�on and reduce weeds.

Summer flowering annuals By mid-November, many varie�es will already be in flower. Con�nue plan�ngs of flowering summer annuals throughout the month, water when required, but don’t overwater as summer annuals have adapted to drier condi�ons.

Strawberry patch A rewarding month for those with a strawberry patch. Time to harvest fresh, ripe, juicy berries from your garden – yum!

Place peastraw or bark mulch around

the plants to create a ‘clean bed’ for the strawberries.

Fruit trees All fruit trees are now in ac�ve growth so apply a second side dressing of fruit tree fer�liser. Mulching around fruit trees is highly beneficial, as it helps reduce water loss and suppress weeds. Con�nue harves�ng seminole tangelos.

Roses Roses are looking stunning this month. Bushes are in full flower and they should have remained disease free. If you do no�ce signs of disease or pests – spray immediately. Remember once you commit to spraying, you must follow a regular regime throughout the season. Keep applying rose fer�liser every 4-6 weeks and water it in well.

Hedges It’s a perfect �me for the first trimming of hedges, now that the first flush of growth has finished.

To maintain a dense, bushy hedge, it is recommended that the li�le and o�en approach is taken, rather than the twice yearly major chop.

Battle of the grub

Daltons Summer Flower Care prize pack

We have a Daltons Summer Flower Care Pack valued at over $85 to give away!

The pack contains 2 x Daltons Easy Li� Garden Mix (25L), 1 x Daltons Premium Rose & Flower Fer�liser, 2 x Daltons Easy Li� Po�ng Mix (25L), and a pair of Omni Gloves.

Be in to win Email goodies@theguardian.co.nz with Daltons Flower Care prize

pack in the subject heading, or write to Flower Care pack giveaway, Box 77, Ashburton.

•

CONDITIONS OF ENTRY:

You must provide a gardening question for the Daltons experts to answer.

Please include your address and phone number in email and letter options!

Giveaway entries must be received by December 6.

Tracy Tait is this month’s winner with the following ques�on: We have brown, dead patches in our lawn, could this be a bug of some sort, eating the roots? Looks like it would, if you sprayed Round Up on it, the lawn around it is fine.

•

From your descrip�on, the patches may either be an infec�on of grass grub, or a fungal disease called brown patch (otherwise known as Fusarium nivale).

Grass grubs wreak havoc with lawns, and you will need to treat them in spring through to early summer (or in February �ll late autumn). Talk to your local garden centre for product advice as they are typically aware of problems in your local area and can give you specific informa�on

For more information on Daltons products visit www.daltons.co.nz

on which product has worked best for others.

In regard to brown patch, it is a common turf disease, that usually occurs during mild-moist condi�ons. Typically, the disease is first no�ced as a small patch of yellow grass that later turns brown and dies. Brown patch occurs where there is poor aera�on of the soil, ‘spiking’ the lawn with a solid-pronged garden fork will improve this situa�on. It

allows air into the soil which assists in the uptake of water and nutrients.

In either case, if the areas infected are not too substan�al, remove the dead grass, spread a layer of Daltons Premium Lawn Patching Gold (everything in one bag including seed) or use our Premium Lawn Soil and sow fresh grass seed. Spring is the perfect �me for such a procedure as the soil is warmer as this makes grass seed germina�on more successful.

•

All questions supplied are entered into the draw to win a Daltons prize pack, but the Guardian reserves the right to choose which questions and answers will be published.

Daltons post the prize to our lucky winner.

Saturday, November 20, 2021 | YOU AND YOUR LIFESTYLE

23

Challenging time

C

for our older people

ovid-19 restric�ons and physical distancing measures can have an impact on the wellbeing of older people.

Support for older people, their families and their caregivers is essen�al during �mes of isola�on and quaran�ne, older people need safe access to nutri�ous food, basic supplies, money, medicine to support their physical health and social care.

We are lucky in New Zealand to have many wonderful support services – the likes of community nursing services, meals on wheels, that can keep an eye on their physical and mental health needs when family may not be able to check on their elders.

Don’t be afraid to reach out to the many services available.

If you aren’t sure where to start, your doctor’s office will have contact informa�on available for you.

As the country opens up more and more so are the many clubs, groups and organisa�ons that can operate under Level 2, giving our older residents much

needed social interac�on and support.

Exercise groups, cra� groups, card clubs and so much more are available in Mid Canterbury. Being able to get together for something as simple as a coffee in your favourite café can do wonders for your

mood and with all the Covid safety measures in place there is less stress involved when heading out the door.

Many families have been separated with travel restric�ons and now, with vaccina�ons and travel restric�ons being

li�ed over the Christmas period within New Zealand, there will be many emo�onal reunions.

So as Christmas approaches we all may just be able to have some of nan’s famous roast potatoes or Christmas pudding.

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24

YOU AND YOUR LIFESTYLE | Saturday, November 20, 2021

Age Concern Ashburton has plenty to offer over 65’s! We’d love you to join us in any of the programmes below. Warm welcome assured.

206 Club

The 206 Club

Do you ever think...“It can be lonely at home...” OR “I’d really like to meet some new people” OR “I need my own time, away from my wife/husband, just a few hours a week.” Whatever the reason, getting out, meeting others and having a good laugh is an essential part of living. It can make us feel more vibrant and less sad or lonely. At 206 Club we run a day programme for our districts retired people. You’ll enjoy companionship, activities and entertainment and we like to laugh and have a bit of fun! It is a friendly, relaxed atmosphere. We supply morning tea, two course lunch and afternoon tea - all for a very small cost.

Steady As You Go© Do you want to improve your balance, leg strength and meet new people? Steady As You Go© is a fun and social, strength and balance exercise programme for older adults. The exercises are gentle, progressively increase balance and muscle mass, and are specifically designed for older people. The classes run for sixty minutes each week, for $2.00.

Ladies Exercise Class This ladies low impact exercise class is held on a weekly basis on a Thursday at 9.30am at the Senior Centre, 206 Cameron Street. The instructor focuses on inner core strength and cardio vascular function as well as flexibility of all muscle groups. A popular class with an average of 20 ladies attending.

Hip Hop For Seniors Steady As You Go class

The Hip Hop classes are held on a weekly basis on Wednesday at 10am at the Senior Centre, 206 Cameron Street. The group has on average 10-12 regular members who are passionate about their involvement.

Two thirds of this group are inaugural members. The group are regularly invited to demonstrate in the public arena performing at different events and meetings.

Courtesy Driving Service Age Concern Ashburton provides a Courtesy Driving Service - this is a free community service that transports older people in their own cars to essential medical and health related appointments, airport, weddings, birthdays, church, funerals, shopping or simply catching up with friends.

Seniors’ Social Group This group is run twice a year, once in the autumn and again in the spring for 6 to 7 weeks. This is a group for friendship as well as educational and topical speakers at each gathering. Of course morning tea is served.

Ladies excersie class

Staying Safe - A Refresher Course For Older Drivers We drive on our roads every day. For many of us they are our lifeline – driving is a means of independence, social connection to family and friends and access to essential services. With the generous support of Waka Kotahi (NZTA), Age Concern offers free Staying Safe Refresher Courses for Older Drivers all over New Zealand to help keep older people safe on the roads. The theory based refresher course is an opportunity for people to re-familiarise themselves with traffic rules and safe driving practices in a friendly and relaxed environment with other older drivers. Course dates Friday 18 February and Friday 8 April. To register for a course please phone 03 308 6817.

Age Concern Ashburton is a charity dedicated to people over 65, their friends, and whānau. We promote dignity, wellbeing, equity and respect and provide expert information and support services in response to older people’s needs. We are active and vocal on relevant issues and work to ensure older people stay connected with their family, friends and community.

Hip Hop for Seniors

A big thank you to all our amazing volunteers, if you would like to volunteer or join us please give us a call on 03 038 6817 or call into our office at 206 Cameron Street, Ashburton.

206 Cameron Street, Ashburton 7700 Telephone: 03 308 6817 or freephone 0800 65 2 105 Staying Safe Course