Being Me: Barney Looks Back
Barney lost his hands and legs from meningitis as a baby. At 25, he looks back on the life lessons ...
The Disease That Is Killing My Family: Part 5
For years we've been told to eat less and move more and that we are in control of what we eat; but p...
Maia and Letitia
Maia Amai's face was ravaged in a car fire when she was a toddler. She barely left the house until c...
Being Me: Hayley
17-year-old double amputee, Haley Birch is breaking records. Having survived meningococcal disease, ...
Being Me: Robbie
Robbie Francis is 27, and doing her bit to change the world. She's bringing together disability, sus...
Maia
Maia Amai bears brutal scars - the result of a car fire when she was just 18mth olds. A subsequent s...
The Disease That Is Killing My Family: Part 2
Brian Kairau can't feel his feet. Years of Type 2 Diabetes has damaged the small blood vessels leavi...
Bulletproof: Matthew
Carefree farmer Matt Bryson lost his leg in an accident on the family farm four years ago. He contin...
Barney Makes a Difference
Barney lost his hands and legs after an aggressive bout of meningitis. Now a high achiever, Barney i...
The Disease That Is Killing My Family: Part 1
Type 2 Diabetes is one of the most serious public health issues facing New Zealanders. What is it li...
The Disease That Is Killing My Family: Part 4
Type 2 Diabetes is now the leading cause of death in Samoa. It threatens to overwhelm the health sys...
Where Are They Now? Bea Learns to Dance
Bea Wuts was 4 years old when both her feet were amputated. Now 8, Bea is a keen swimmer and horse r...
Green and Golden Couple
Chris Bond and Bridie Kean are both amputees who wear their scars with pride. This couple knows a lo...
Lilly's Legs
Lilly Lomas had both legs amputated. She is now learning to walk on prosthetics; maybe her heroines ...
Life with a Backwards Foot
Seventeen-year old Sean Prenderville survived aggressive cancer in his thigh bone and underwent a ra...
Being Me: Ripu
Ripu was 21, living in Sydney and finishing a Masters in Journalism when meningococcal septicaemia n...
Frontline Paramedic
Paramedic, Derek Eady, lost his leg after falling 5m from his own roof. He's refusing to give up on ...
Jono Brownjohn: Raising the Bar
Jono Brownjohn has more power in one leg than many track athletes with two. He wants gold at the Par...
Scott's Comeback
After loosing his leg from a rugby injury, Scott Martlew thought his dreams of becoming an elite ath...
The Disease That Is Killing My Family: Part 3
At 52, former gang leader turned youth worker Brian Kairau has one more dream left: riding a Harley.
Being Me: Brylee
At six, Brylee Mills lost her arm, and has been coming to terms with it ever since. She's embarking ...
My Alive Day
Cameron Clapp was 15 years old when he was hit by a freight train. It took both his legs and an arm,...
Rotationplasty: My Backwards Foot
Having beaten an aggressive cancer in his thigh bone, 14-year-old Sean Prendeville is now facing a r...
Baby Charlotte Grows Up
Charlotte Cleverley-Bisman lost her limbs to meningitis as a baby. Now she's 11, and learning to do ...
SheLift Part 1
Each year girls and women with various abilities and limb differences from all over the States meet ...
SheLift: Part 2
Each year girls and women with various abilities and limb differences from all over the States meet ...
Cameron Comes of Age
In everything he does, Cameron Leslie has had to find his own way. Born without fully formed arms an...
Wheel Blacks Special: Part 2
Wheel Blacks Special: Part 1
Are the Wheelblacks on track for gold in Beijing? They brought home medals in Sydney and Athens and ...
What's Your Possibility? Paddy Walsh
Shakti has a chat with Paddy Walsh. Paddy, a 15 year old amputee and sportswoman talks to Shakti abo...
Question Time: Living with a Prosthetic Leg
In this episode of Question Time, we are asking Robbie about living with a prosthetic leg. Made wit...
Question Time: Septicaemia Survivor
Five years ago Korrin's life turned upside down when she contracted sepsis which resulted in amputat...
Love Is Blind: Korin & Craig
When Korrin lost her hands and feet to septicaemia, Craig was by her side the whole time. Korrin had...
Diabetes: The Silent Killer
Type 2 diabetes is New Zealand’s silent killer. More than 250,000 Kiwis live with it; a further 100,...
Ian's first steps
Iron Man Ian Winson lost both his legs in a freak gas explosion two years ago. He desperately wants ...
Being Me: Kasem
13-year-old refugee Kasem lost his leg and much of his upper arm in a bomb attack in Syria, which al...
Ian's story: How I lost my legs and found freedom
Though things looked bleak after a deadly explosion, Ian Winson didn't let it dampen his determinati...
Bulletproof: Shaz
Less than two years after losing her left arm, Shaz Dagg became the first female amputee to complete...
Bulletproof: Mitch Joynt
Mitch Joynt is lucky to be alive. The young arborist lost his leg when he was dragged into a woodchi...
Jamie Nepia
Jamie Nepia lost a leg after a violent shooting. To help rebuild her life, she took up boxing and di...
Bulletproof: Wojtek Czyz
Wojtek Czyz’s professional soccer career was cut short when his left leg was amputated. He went on t...
Bulletproof: Anna Parsons
University student Anna Parsons suffered horrific injuries in a climbing fall accident in the US. In...
Bulletproof Jake Gibbons
Jake Gibbons lost both feet and his right hand to frostbite in Greenland and has had to adapt to his...
Bulletproof Jake Gibbons
Jake Gibbons lost both feet and his right hand to frostbite in Greenland and has had to adapt to his...
Sarah Herron was born without her lower left arm, but she has taken this ‘disability’ and run with it. Motivated by her own experiences of trying sports outside her comfort zone, she came up with SheLift; an outdoor education camp which brings young women with physical differences together.
Sarah hid her missing arm for most of her life but after being the first woman with a disability to feature on the popular television show, The Bachelor, and describes the experience almost as a ‘coming out’.
The support she received from so many young women made her realise how much more people like her needed to be represented, and so spurned her idea for SheLift.
“I started SheLift to help girls and women of all abilities realise that they can discover their confidence and self-esteem through recreation.”
Ava, 12 and Natalie, 25 are two attendees meeting for the first time at the 2019 summit. Ava lives with nail-patella syndrome and Natalie has amniotic band syndrome. Ava’s arms can’t extend past 90 degrees and her nails, limbs, eyes and kidneys are also affected. While Natalie was born without her lower left arm.
Over four days the girls stretch their boundaries trying activities like rock climbing, yoga and making friends along the way.
Natalie pushed through the pain of the right side of her body to master the rock wall. While Ava broke mental barriers to complete the course. She thought she could not do it until her mum and Natalie were cheering her on.
They also benefited from workshops and mentors who taught them valuable life lessons about self-belief.
The camp has a secondary purpose too. It brings together the girls’ parents to create a support network. Which is just what Ava’s mum Heather was attending for.
“I am here to be part of a community to speak about times when maybe she [Ava] has come to me with a concern that I didn’t know how to answer and how to give advice to her.”
Natalie entered the camp with the view of being a big sister or mentor to Ava. But throughout her time there she realised how much she still has to learn.
“I’ve always put on this show that if people were rude to me I wouldn’t care, but it really hurt.”
Sarah believed it was important young women get the opportunity to be around others with physical differences.
“I’ve always put on this show that if people were rude to me I wouldn’t care, but it really hurt.”
“For the first time, these women are meeting somebody that they can share in their life experiences with and they can talk about shared commonalities.”
Heather wanted her daughter to be accepted and saw her blossom at the camp.
“I’ve seen such a difference in Ava, being so happy and positive just filled my heart with so much joy. I’ll have such a sense of security knowing there are young women who will be there for Ava.”
Ava and Natalie have decided they will be lifelong friends, leaning on each other for support when they need it. SheLift has also given them the tools and values to stand up for themselves and keep trying when life gets hard.
Being Me: Rachel Māia
Rachel Māia lives in constant pain, considering amputating her leg to reach new heights.
Being Me: Hayley
17-year-old double amputee, Haley Birch is breaking records. Having survived meningococcal disease, ...
Bulletproof: Matthew
Carefree farmer Matt Bryson lost his leg in an accident on the family farm four years ago. He contin...
Love Is Blind: Korin & Craig
When Korrin lost her hands and feet to septicaemia, Craig was by her side the whole time. Korrin had...
