Five stories exploring the lives of people with disabilities.
How I forgave my 16-year-old self
Richard Warwick's one-time experiment with petrol sniffing at the age of 16 triggered a brain bleed which left him partially paralysed. 36 years later, he completed the gruelling 30-kilometre Coast to Coast mountain run.
Photo: Richard Warwick
Minnie Baragwanath - the battle for accessible healthcare
Minnie Baragwanath has played a leading role in effecting social change for New Zealanders with disabilities.
Minnie Baragwanath Photo: Supplied
A musical path without sight
Georgia Steel is a high-flying young violist and conductor who is legally blind.
Georgia Steel Photo: Supplied
Erin Gough: disabled rights and everyday obstacles and attitudes
Erin Gough is a human rights adviser at the Human Rights Commission who uses a wheelchair. "I am a New Zealander. I am a female. I am a sister. I am a daughter. I am a friend. I am a university student. I am an advocate. I am all those things as much as I am a disabled person" she says.
Erin Gough Photo: supplied
The Climb for Life
An awkward fall as a teenager changed the course of keen climber Rachel Carter’s life. She thinks she’s climbing better now with one working leg than two and competes in national para-climbing competitions.
Paraclimber Rachel Carter Photo: Instagram / Rachel Carter
I said ‘Let’s try and figure out a way that you can talk to me’
Charmeyne Te Nana-Williams and her husband Peter were parents of 8-month-old twin girls when Peter suffered a traumatic brain injury after a boxing match and become a tetraplegic at 27. The battle to get Peter home with the family and well cared for was the catalyst for Charmeyne’s home-based rehab organisation – Whatever It Takes.
Charmeyne Te Nana-Williams with husband Peter Photo: Charmeyne Te Nana-Williams
