The Call: May edition

Ways to help your community

Welcome to The Call. I’m heartbroken and shaken by the draft opinion to overturn Roe vs Wade in the United States. The idea that in 2022 any country would remove the right to bodily autonomy, the right to choose, the right to abortion - it’s beyond awful.

I feel helpless to help American women and pregnant people. The helplessness can feel so overwhelming sometimes.And it’s not just that is it? If you have the means, you can donate to an abortion fund in the US…but it doesn’t feel like enough does it?

What can we do about climate change? Sea levels are rising faster than we thought. It’s so overwhelming…

I feel hopeless, like nothing I do will matter. I try to remember that there are things I can do, there might not be much…but I can do as much as I can. Some days that’s a lot, other days it might be nothing. I try not to beat myself up. I try to just try.

The Call is my way of encouraging myself to keep trying and I hope it helps you too, if you feel helpless. Maybe together, we can make real change.

I don’t have the answers. I don’t know what we can do yet to help women and people who might become pregnant in the States. I don’t know what we should do about rising sea levels - but maybe we can all figure that out together?

This is what this place is for. It’s where we come together to try to make things better. Because I think it’s the trying that matters most….

What is happening?

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic condition affecting more than 540 people in New Zealand. You are born with CF and cannot catch it later in life, but one in 25 of us carries the faulty gene that causes it, usually without knowing. It mainly affects the lungs and pancreas, but over time affects other organs too. A wonder drug Trikafta is saving lives but it’s not funded in Aotearoa. A petition, signed by 43,234 people was given to Parliament last month. Trikafta is funded in 30 countries including Australia.

Where can I read more?

• Two families affected by cystic fibrosis share their different experiences based on access to Trikafta

• Mum and son hold their breath for cystic fibrosis drug Trikafta ahead of Budget

• Cystic fibrosis: Why one brother can get Trikafta and the other can't

• Cystic fibrosis sufferer 'born again' after using 'miracle' drug

What can I do to help?

Cystic Fibrosis NZ has urged Pharmac to negotiate with Vertex (the manufacturer of Trikafta) to agree a fair and reasonable price for the 388 New Zealanders it would benefit. They have also urged the Government to give Pharmac the budget needed to fund Trikafta as soon as possible.

There are two ways you can help. Firstly, you can correct misinformation you see by linking to this fact sheet on Trikafta. Secondly, Pharmac has two applications for Trikafta on its medicines wishlist, but the money isn’t there in its existing budget. The Government sets the budget each year in May. You can email Health Minister Andrew Little on a.little@ministers.govt.nz and say you want the overall medicines budget for Pharmac to be increased. The email can be very simple. For example - “Dear Andrew Little, Please increase the overal medicines budget for Pharmac. I believe every New Zealander deserves to live well in this country. This cannot happen until the budget for Pharmac is increased. Regards, […]”.

Credit: Wonder Doodles

What is happening? Climate activist Bernard Schofield, 83, is pressuring the government to deliver fortnightly climate emergency press conferences. He says in a petition that regular press conferences specifically about climate change will encourage reporters with specialised knowledge to attend and will give them the opportunity to question the Government closely.

Where can I read more?

• Out with case numbers, in with emissions? The case for 1pm climate crisis updates

What can I do to help? You can sign his petition here. You can also email James Shaw, Minister of Climate Change, and tell him how you feel about all of this. You can write to politicians without having answers, without requesting anything. Just speak from your heart. Let them know what matters to you. James Shaw’s email is: j.shaw@ministers.govt.nz.

Photo: Cortnee

What is happening?

We are heading into flu season. The flu is NOT MILD. We lose about 500 New Zealanders every year to flu. That’s in a normal year. It could be much worse this year. Older, younger, immunocompromised people, Māori and Pacific peoples are all really at risk. From College of General Practitioners medical director and Porirua GP Dr Bryan Betty: "The other group to really really highlight this year is children, children can be very badly affected by the flu, especially children over the age of three living with conditions such as asthma or respiratory conditions or underlying health conditions such as Type 1 diabetes." That’s my baby - so thank you in advance for helping us.

Where can I read more?

• Doctor warns tough flu season ahead and New Zealand is 'particularly vulnerable'

• Flu a major killer - University of Otago

• What is the flu vaccine?

• Why do I need to get vaccinated every year?

What can I do to help?

Get your flu shot. Please! You can get it at the same time as your Covid 19 booster. The influenza immunisation programme started on 1 April and runs to 31 December 2022. It is best to get the flu vaccine as soon as possible, because winter is the time when you are most likely to come into contact with the flu. It takes about two weeks for your flu vaccination to be most effective.

Many more people are eligible for the free flu vaccine this year. They include, Māori and Pacific people aged 55 to 64 years, pregnant people, people aged 65 years and older, people aged 6 months to under 65 years with certain medical conditions, tamariki aged 4 years or under who have been hospitalised for respiratory illness (including measles) or have a history of significant respiratory illness.

You can also sign up to flu-tracking. FluTracking is an online health surveillance system used to detect the potential spread of influenza. Whether you’re vaccinated or not, as long as you live in Australia or New Zealand and have easy access to email on a weekly basis - you can sign up. It takes less than 30 seconds each week to participate and track flu in your area. Click here for more information.

What is happening? Over 50,000 New Zealanders live with the mental distress of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Exposure Response Prevention (ERP) therapy can provide the skills needed to help with OCD symptoms. ERP therapy is very difficult to access in the public health system. So, people with OCD and their families have come together to try to change that.

Where can I read more?

• OCD advocates want better support for a misunderstood disorder

• Four women on the realities of life with OCD

• People with obsessive compulsive disorder say lockdown allowed their condition to thrive

• Obsessive compulsive disorder convinced woman she was a 'dangerous' murderer

What can I do to help?

Fixate, an Aotearoa-based online support group, has set up a petition calling for access to ERP therapy for people living with OCD in Aotearoa. You can sign it here.

Every little bit helps…

Introducing a new part of The Call where I share options to help people with much smaller causes that are still really important. A little bit goes a long way.

• A young woman has been rejected by the Hutt Valley DHB four times for publicly funded surgery. She has suffered back pain, migraines and infections since she was 14 years old. Now she has to privately fundraising for her surgery.

• Free Ride is a project set up to increase bike riding for transportation, recreation and fitness.

• There’s a fundraiser to set up and operate a Tāmaki Makaurau Community Free Shop.

• For your young ones - Just Ask Rangatahi. Teens and young people can send in their tricky questions (about life, mental health, relationships, school, counselling or whatever is on your mind) and a team of qualified people answer them.

• Maria has MS and is walking 50km this month to fundraise for research.

• Love Rimurimu is selling t-shirts, so they can grow lots of baby kelp. With your help the baby kelp will eventually become an underwater forest.

Finally, on Friday, we have Bruce merch going on sale to raise money for Feral Nation - the cat and kitten rescue that brought Brucey into our lives! I can’t wait for you to see the very cute kids and adult tees and tote bags!

All proceeds will go to Feral Nation. They do incredible work and my boys are sooo excited about this project. They want many more families to have a Bruce in their lives!