Kind Hands - Testimonials

Thank you so much for all your care, support and love for Elroy and our family. We are so blessed to have had Kind Hands in our lives. Elroy, I know has thrived because of it. You are a treasure, please look after yourself. - 30th June 2021

It's Charlette’s last day at Kind Hands today, I cannot believe how fast the years have gone by...

You are all a big blessing to our family.  You will be in our hearts for eternity.  Thank you so much for all your love and care you have shared with Charlette.

What a beautiful journey we have had with such an amazing team! We cannot say in enough words how much Kind Hands has helped our beautiful girl and us as a family. Every single person at Kind Hands played a part in Charlette's journey you are FAMILY and everyone will be dearly missed. We will also miss all the beautiful friends that Charlette has made every single child has a very soft place in our hearts especially for Charlette xx

Yesterday I asked Charlette how she feels about her last day at Kind Hands. She replied, "I am sad"... And then she asked "I'm going to big school" and I reassured her that she will make beautiful memories there and meet new friends . It’s really hard for me to let go of Kind Hands you were my safety net and now it’s like cutting the net and I have to start over just like we did when we took the first step with Kind Hands, I am scared I'm nervous but most of all I'm very excited to walk this new journey with Charlette and her school. She has so much to give and she is going to be brightening up everyone's lives in her wonderful unique way. Please stay in touch ... - 16th July 2021

Eli’s journey at Kind Hands Respite Care Cottage has come to an end

It’s very emotional to even write this post but it must be said.

Eli was born in 2016, we spent time in Whangarei hospital trying to figure out what was going on. My sister in-law, Shells, rang me one day and said that she had a friend (Sharlene) who works for the hospital in the child health team as a outreach nurse and that she has spoken to her about Eli and they were working to make sure Sharlene could look after Eli once we were able to be discharged. Thank goodness!

Sharlene has raced to Eli’s rescue countless times over the past 5 years, she has been our guardian angel and our life coach at times. She equipped me with the skills needed to care for Eli, including tube placement, feeding pumps, oximetry machine, medication, gastrostomy replacement and care and so much more.

One time she even left a half marathon to race to get Eli some pamol!

One day I was upset about not being able to attend Cameron’s school assembly because I could not take Eli with me. This was the day Sharlene told me about her dream. She wanted to create a place that parents with children who have high medical needs could take their children and know that they were being looked after by nurses and carers who are experienced.

I remember thinking how ambitious this dream was and that it probably wouldn’t come to be while Eli was a baby. But if you’ve met Sharlene you’ll believe me when I say, once she’s on a mission, there’s no holding her back.

Kind Hands Respite Care Cottage opened in July 2018, Eli was the very first baby to attend. He had a feeding tube and feeding pump attached to him most of the day, he needed help holding his head and sitting up, he had a range of special equipment. The staff at Kind Hands took it all in their stride. I cannot describe the relief and feeling of trust I had every time I dropped Eli into Kind Hands, up until this time we had never felt confident with anyone looking after our precious boy.

After a while we realised that what we needed was ECE (early childhood education) as Eli was attending Kind Hands during work hours so that our family could recover financially. Sharlene said to me “right, that’s what we’ll do! We will get registered as ECE and our boy will be able to have teachers and nurses!” So she did! And it was no easy task.

Fast forward to this very emotional day, Eli has loved his time at Kind Hands, it’s his second home! He loves all of the staff and all of his friends. It’s a sad day because we are saying goodbye but also a proud day, today our son graduated from early childhood and tomorrow he starts at a mainstream school, we feel we owe this milestone to Sharlene and the staff at Kind Hands along with his therapists and other supports. We always thought he would not be able to attend mainstream school and now look at him!

Thank you Sharlene, thank you David, thank you to all of the beautiful staff members. You have all touched Eli’s life in such a special and meaningful way, we will never be able to thank you all enough.

Eli will come visit someday soon to share his journey with his friends and to give his favourite people some snuggles. For now goodbye

- 2nd August 2021

When I fell pregnant in August 2012 with my first child I dreamt about the day I would get to meet this perfect little baby I had been waiting for for what felt like a lifetime.

The first trimester went quite smoothly with what seemed to be the "normal" pregnancy symptoms - morning sickness, tiredness and as the weeks went by the excitement started to grow. I remember hearing the heartbeat for the first time and tearing up, I was having a baby! As the second trimester approached I started to feel a little better and a little belly began to show.

When 20 weeks came around my husband and I decided we had to find out the sex. A boy! My husband especially was over the moon and I still remember the squeal he made when we were told we would be having a boy. Christmas Day approached and I was 23 weeks pregnant and excited for a holiday with my husband and family and some relaxing time at the beach showing off my bump that I was oh so proud of. And then it all changed.

I went to the toilet and noticed a small amount of blood on the toilet paper. (Yes for some reason I checked the toilet paper every time!) I panicked and told my husband and he reassured me all would be fine as did my brother and mum. I couldn't brush off the doubt I had so called my midwife. I apologised for disturbing her Christmas Day but just needed some peace of mind. She told me she would call ahead to the delivery suite and I could go up there to be checked. I didn't wait. My husband and I went straight up there and as much as I tried to stay positive I knew something wasn't right.

Now the next little while is a blur but I remember a doctor calling in another doctor once she had done the initial check and my husband holding my hand so tightly, he knew something wasn't right either. "You are 4 cms dilated and have bulging membranes" I remember being told. What does that even mean I thought? Well it meant I was off to Auckland hospital quick smart in a helicopter. I felt numb. I can't remember if I cried or if I was so confused it felt like it was all a dream. (I wish.)

Once in Auckland my husband and I were put in a room and told the odds. If I was to have my baby now there was no way he could survive. I remember having a scan and seeing this gorgeous little boy wriggling around, alive and well in my tummy. It was hard to fathom that he would not survive but he was not ready for life on the outside world. The plan was if I made it to the next morning I would get a cervical stitch put in and fingers crossed this would keep this precious baby inside.

Well the stitch held for nearly 2 more weeks, I got up one morning to go to the toilet and my waters broke. I was 24+4 weeks. I was planning on getting to 26 weeks and then I would have been sent home on bed rest. Of course my husband had gone up to Whangarei for the night so when he heard the news he had to turn around and come right back! I've never asked if he drove fast but I bet he did. Our little boy stayed inside 2 more days and was born on January 7, 2012 (due April 22nd), he weighed 870 grams (1pd9oz) and was 35cms long. Now I wish I could tell you that he was perfect but I didn't get a chance to see him. He was whipped away so fast I didn't even catch a glimpse of him.

My husband went with the doctors and nurses and whoever else was there to help try and save our sons life. He wasn't breathing on his own, he had to be resuscitated and we owe everything to the doctor who got him to breathe. We were in hospital for 20 weeks with our little miracle, our little fighter who amazed us with how strong he was. It was the hardest, most emotional time of mine and my husbands life and at the time I never thought we would get through it.

Here I am however, writing this story to share with others to hopefully show you that miracles do happen. We were very very lucky and owe so much to the doctors and nurses who looked after not just our son but us as well. Max is now 5 years old and is excelling at school and is loving life as a healthy happy much loved little boy. Our hero always.