Our Malaga to Samoa

We had three small children at the time, and our hard-won lessons eventually led to the creation of our support service, What Ever It Takes, which helps families facing similar challenges.

Families first

Rather than become one of those people that complains about everything, I developed a programme that worked for us, and is now working for other families living with the effects of injury, disability, or serious illness. It's important that families and whanau be able to control their own destiny. This belief is central to our lives and the services we deliver to others. An example was our whanau trip to Samoa before last year's devastating tsunami. Peter named our children after significant landmarks in his village, Sa'ava in Salani, and he was determined to take our tamariki back to visit their turuwhenua.

Dream come true

There was a time when I thought we would never fulfil many of our dreams due to Peter's complex care needs, but our trip to Samoa showed me that with the right support and a lot of organising, anything is possible! You may be interested in what we learned during our trip.

Travel and Air NZ

After what felt like a massive number of phone calls trying to organise the logistics of our holiday (resulting in no progress whatsoever), I emailed Rob Fyfe, CEO of Air NZ, directly. The support he insisted his staff provide to us was exceptional! Peter Bell, Air NZ's Operations Performance Manager, ensured that all our needs were met, from checking in (with soooo much luggage and equipment) to clearing Customs, manually transferring Peter into his chair on the plane, assisting during the flight itself, doing everything again when we arrived in Samoa, and repeating every step on the way home. Air NZ exceeded all expectations; in fact, this trip resulted in Air NZ reviewing its policies around transporting whanau with a disability.

Accommodation and transport

Fortunately we have friends who divide their time between NZ and Samoa, and they have two houses in Samoa, one in town and one near Paradise Beach. Our friends understood about things like accessibility, managing fatigue, travelling with lots of equipment, and that we needed a comfortable environment for us, our kids, and our team. We had the option of staying in town in their lovely home, but chose to stay in the village of Lefaga. It was beautiful, clean, cool, peaceful, and represented the real Samoa! There are no wheelchair accessible vehicles in Samoa, so we hired a Toyota High Ace van, removed the seats, packed some ratchet lashes to strap the wheelchair in during our holiday ... and asked four strapping Samoan men to act as our hoist! The roads in Samoa are a bit challenging, particularly from the villages into town; on the other hand there's no road rage (or very little), so our driving at 20 k's per hour didn't annoy anyone!

Support team

Two of our New Zealand support staff joined us on the trip, and we employed two village warriors in Samoa to help out while we were there. Our warriors stayed with us 24/7 and we provided ‘on the job' training so they knew how to support Peter. Their natural ability to slip into a caring role made this very easy. Not only did they assist with Peter's cares, they helped out around the house, drove us everywhere, interpreted, and occupied the kids. They were a pleasure to be with - lots of laughing and positive energy, and they really connected with Peter, who in turn was an example about living life to the fullest. Managing Peter, the kids, getting things done around the house, and preparing meals can be a lot to manage even when we're at home. Our team has a real ability to identify what needs to be done, and the initiative to keep things ticking along. What's the point of going on holiday if you're stressed and tired? It's important to work together as a team wherever you are.

Activities

The village of Lefaga organised several events to honour Peter including a cultural night, a Po fia fia, an umu, and use of the shady fale Samoa while we were at the beach. Samoa played against Fiji during our visit, and we were given corporate box seats at the rugby (this consisted of plastic chairs at the front of the main stand and a couple of Samoan biscuits to share between seven of us)! Friends of friends own a café in town, so we made that our base during our holiday. We also took the kids to Kitano Resort whilst in town for a swim and a feed of hamburgers. During our holiday they were able to meet their uncles, aunties and cousins, who shared their stories about the mischief Peter got up to as a young boy living in Salani! We visited the graves of Peter's tupuna, including his grandfather. It was truly an amazing experience, one which I'm sure our children (Siagogo, Safenunuivao and Leata) will never forget. Throughout the holiday, it was important for all of us to balance the need for rest with the logistics of getting out and about. We planned one event or activity a day and spent the rest of the time at the beach because it was 30 degrees! Rushing stresses me out, so I'm very conscious about not over-organising. And there is always the possibility that Peter may have head pain or fatigue, requiring him to rest.We try to ensure this doesn't affect our kids' ability to have fun and do stuff, so the people who travel with us (our team) are able to quickly step in if needed. They are part of our family, and we ‘tag team' very effectively.

Costs and logistics

I was surprised how affordable it was to holiday in Samoa. The flights were just $180 each way for an adult, and $135 for a child. The rental van cost about NZ$1000 plus petrol, our biggest expense. Accommodation was very reasonable ... a koha to our friends. We had the use of kitchen facilities, so we bought groceries and only went out for hamburgers and other treats for the kids. We rented a water dispensing machine for the week, as you don't drink the tap water where we stayed. This meant we didn't risk tummy bugs or infections, though Peter had an upset stomach for a couple of days from eating the rich palusami! I packed some antibiotics in case of infection from coral cuts while swimming. The biggest issue for us was the mosquitos. My leg swelled abnormally when a bite became infected, and our staff also returned to New Zealand with some oversized mozzie bites. Our warriors gave me a fofo or massage, so my leg came right without drugs, and we made sure we were in the fale Samoa on the beach during the hottest hours so we didn't suffer from sunstroke or similar. All up, our malaga to Samoa cost about $6000, which is pretty good for four adults and three children! This included two business class fares, as Peter has to travel in the bigger seats to manage his height and positioning (and because he doesn't fit into the Eagle hoist Air NZ uses to transfer disabled people).

Innovation

I was overwhelmed by the simplicity of life in Samoa, where people make the most of what they have (or don't have). The easygoing, respectful way of the Samoan people made our holiday so pleasurable, and a real success given the challenges. The Samoan culture is still often village based, so caring for family members is a natural part of life. With a bit of guidance and support, I believe we could implement a very successful programme of care for seriously injured New Zealand Samoans who want to return there to live. We have proposed this and are hopeful we'll be able to provide our service in Samoa this year.

Plan ahead

My advice to others wishing to make a major overseas trip is to think about practical issues well before you leave New Zealand. For example, Peter had to be physically well and strong to cope with the travel and climate change. He also needed to be able to cope with the change in diet, and to work on his strength so he could assist with transfers, as we didn't take any hoisting equipment. Peter's goal to travel was the impetus for his rehabilitation and support programme at home, and it certainly motivated him, resulting in an amazing family holiday. Most importantly, we learned for ourselves, and hopefully for the benefit of the other families we support, that with the right assistance and attitude, anything is possible!

U ki te whanau ora (nurturing the family)!
http://www.whateverittakes.co.nz/