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News
Light shed on brain injuries
Monday, 11 June 2007
By REBECCA GARDINER
• Howick and Pakuranga Times
A LEISURELY drive home from Waiwera 21 years ago left Howick resident David Denton on the road to years of rehabilitation and struggle.
David (left) and Denis Denton know firsthand the effect brain injury can have on a victim and their family. Times photo Wayne Martin.
A head-on collision with a drunk driver caused the then 21-year-old serious injuries and killed his girlfriend and best mate.
Now 42, David Denton is just one of 33,000 New Zealanders who suffers a brain injury each year — a staggering statistic.
Brain injury awareness week runs from June 10 to 16. Its aim is to remind Kiwis of the hardships faced by brain-injured people and their families.
“It can happen to anyone,” says the president of the Brain Injury Association of New Zealand (BIANZ), John Clough.
“When it does, we’re there to help those affected and their families.”
After witnessing first hand the difficulties faced by their son, Denis and Lencia Denton decided to reach out to other victims of brain-injury.
The Howick couple believe support services available for brain-injured people and their families are far superior today to what was offered at the time of David’s accident.
“Twenty years ago there was nothing, you were on your own,” says Mr Denton. “No services, no advice, no information. We didn’t have a clue what was ahead of us.”
Since 2001 Mr Denton has been general manager of the Northern Stewart Centre Trust, a service providing support and rehabilitation for brain-injured people and their loved ones.
David sustained a number of physical injuries in the accident, including a fractured skull, severe bruising and a severed aorta.
“He had to learn to speak and eat properly again,” says Mr Denton. “It took over a year to get some mobility and coordination back.”
The couple says coping with their son’s mood swings and anger after the accident was difficult.
“David’s whole personality changed. We couldn’t believe this was the same son,” says Mrs Denton. “He went from an outward going, happy person to an introvert. It was like having a stranger in your home.”
With a partner and two sons of his own, David is one of the luckier ones, adds Mrs Denton.
“A lot of brain-injured people don’t really have a life. Recovery is a slow process – one step forward and two steps back. But David far exceeded expectations. He still suffers fatigue but the fact he can hold down a job is wonderful.”
After slowly progressing from part-time work to full employment, David now works as a merchandiser for a pasta and sauce company.
“He’s got a lesser job than he might have had, but at least he’s capable of earning,” says Mr Denton. “He’s getting some personality back. He enjoys it because he gets out and about.”
The family will be out in full force this week to help the BIANZ raise funds and public awareness of the plight of brain-injured people. Collectors are stationed at street sites and shopping malls around Auckland, including Meadowbank.
The Dentons say their involvement with BIANZ and the Stewart Centre has been extremely rewarding and has meant something positive has come out of their son’s accident.
“Our son’s come a long way,” says Mrs Denton. “Some people can slip through the system and they don’t get help. [BIANZ and the Stewart Centre] are helping a lot of people, which is wonderful.”