Pamper yourself or someone else!
Do you look after a person who has an intellectual disability or autism? All families, whānau and carers need a break to relax and put their feet up. IHC’s Take A Break With Us programme is open to those caring for someone who has an intellectual disability. A family can be referred to the programme by anyone – a friend, neighbour or support worker. You need to be a member of IHC to qualify for Take A Break. Membership costs $5 per year. If you are eligible, with travel again possible, you can look forward to one or two nights’ free accommodation at a participating Take A Break hotel. IHC may also be able to help with meals, leisure activities and transportation if needed.
At the moment, while travel is getting back to normal due to Covid-19, pamper packages are on offer for people who can’t get away but could do with a treat. While you are welcome to bring members of your family on a travel break, IHC is unable to provide additional care for your child or children through the programme while you are away. If you know somebody deserving of a break or need one yourself, message Suzanne.Downes@ihc. org.nz or phone her on (027) 299 2105. ihc.org.nz/take-break-us
A break for a boy who loves water Five year old Anakin Kingi thought all his Christmases had come at once. All of a sudden the family were packing into their car and heading to Hawkes Bay for a couple of days of fun at the National Aquarium in Napier and Splash Planet in Hastings. Anakin loves anything to do with water, so the break was designed to do as many activities involving water as possible. Thomas and Chante Kingi, Leisana, and Anakin had two nights in a Hastings motel. It was the family’s first visit to Napier and their first holiday in a motel, and they made the most of it. They started early from home in Palmerston North for the drive to Napier so they could take in the aquarium before check-in time at the motel in Hastings. “To be honest, we don’t get away that much," says Thomas. They got a good deal on tickets to Splash Planet and spent the entire day at the adventure park, from opening until closing time. “Our tickets were for full access to everything that was in the park. Anakin is a water baby and he just wanted to go swimming – he thoroughly enjoyed the whole of the park,” Thomas says.
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“We made our sandwiches in the morning and we took our drinks and had a good picnic lunch.” Five years ago, Thomas faced the fact that his heart condition would no longer allow him to work. So he and his wife Chante swapped places. He stayed home to care for their children and Chante went back to full-time work. Looking back, Thomas has been happy to play the cards he was dealt. As it turned out Anakin, who was only a baby at the time, was to be diagnosed with autism and Thomas has been on hand to provide the support he needs. Anakin was non-verbal until he was three years old and is now slowly gathering words. He started school last year. “It has basically worked out well, just being able to be there for a lot of firsts – his first steps, first words. It is so rewarding just being there to nurture and coach him,” Thomas says. “I have little patience and he has got none. We are both learning off each other. He is teaching me patience and resilience and I am teaching him the basics." Thomas has a pacemaker and an ICD
(internal cardiac defibrillator) to manage his cardiomyopathy. "I have got a little battery pack that they inserted under my skin. It sends a charge through the wire to my heart to try to bring it back to a normal rhythm. It is like getting kicked in the chest by a horse." “I used to drink and smoke. I have given all that up – I had to if I wanted to see my son and daughter grow up." "I am not one to sit down in a corner and wait for the inevitable." "I want to be there as long as I can for my children and my wife." Thomas says he and his family were very grateful for their break. “It was so much fun – just the fact of something new.”
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