Community shows heart to arrivals
A Chinese family says they were lucky to have landed in Gore, after getting encouragement from their neighbours to head to hospital, thereby averting a life-threatening crisis.
Eleanor and Zach Liu moved from Guangzhou, a city in China, to Gore last year to work at a local oesteopathy clinic.
Mr Liu, who practises traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture, was walking home one evening when his neighbours, Brendon Humphries and Stefanie Mayer, noticed he was a bit pale.
Continuing into the night, and even cooking dinner, Mr Liu again felt strange with a tightness in his chest and a shortness of breath, but did not think much of it.
Ms Mayer said after being told by her partner about Mr Liu's condition, she checked in with her neighbours on Whatsapp, and encouraged a checkup.
"Zach was walking past the house, and he was holding his chest and was struggling to breath, [Brendon] said you're not looking good.
"My background is actually as a nurse in Europe, so I said yeah, you'd better go to A&E. I was very persistent to take him in and get checked out," he said.
After being kept overnight in Gore Hospital, Mr Liu was transferred to Invercargill for further testing, where an ECG showed irregularities.
Dunedin was the next stop, where Mr Liu underwent an angioplasty and had a stent inserted into his heart.
Despite worries about traversing the medical system in a foreign country, Mrs Liu and her husband were very impressed with the service they received.
"I can speak some English but nothing about hospitals, specifics. We were very nervous, but [Gore Health staff] were so kind, warm, and helpful.
"The other thing was, when he was [discharged from Dunedin Hospital], they sent a Chinese translator to make sure he understood everything."
It was a close call, but Mrs Liu said it was the neighbour's reaching out which made the world of difference.
"We were really lucky. Without the reminder from our neighbour, we might have ignored it," she said.
Now Mr Liu is recovering at home, but the messages and goodwill from the community are pouring in, which Mrs Liu said is an incredible feeling.
"Our boss [Mike McLeod] has experienced everything with us.
"We have no siblings, or family here, but he supported us as family.
"His patients are sending messages and emails, it makes us feel not lonely, it's so important," she said.
Health scare aside, Mrs Liu's family said they have come away with a better appreciation of their new home.
"It became a real turning point for us as new migrants. "Even when you don't know anyone, you're not alone for long. People check in, step up, look out for you.
"Thank you Gore. You might be small, but you've got a mighty heart," she said.
gerrit.doppenberg@alliedpress.co.nz
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Otago Daily Times
Acme Acupuncture: Suffering? We can help!
Acme Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs Clinic (Acme Acu) is an Acupuncture NZ (formerly NZRA) member and ACC treatment provider, founded by Hong Wang in 2013 in Dunedin. Hong Wang is a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner and has about 30 years of practical experience. In November 2016, he was awarded the title of Chief TCM Physician by the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies. In September 2019, he was recognized as a formal disciple of Professor Zhang Jin by the World Federation of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Societies, one of the four representative lineage holders of Acupuncture and Moxibustion in TCM, as inscribed in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010. Acme Acu focus on providing TCM services, including acupuncture, Chinese herbs, Tui na (Chinese massage), cupping, Gua sha, and moxibustion (more details at We offer competitive rates for general public and discount rates for students, SuperGold Card or Community Service Card holders. Wheelchair accessible.
NZ Herald
3 days ago
- NZ Herald
Sharing a bed with your kid? It's totally normal in Asia
'They want to enjoy the moment,' Kim, 40, said over an iced latte in her high-rise apartment complex. Though her girls slept in cribs until they were 6 months old, they've grown up bed sharing with their parents. Sleeping arrangements in a bed-sharing family in Singapore. Photo / Ore Huiying, The New York Times In the West, and especially in the United States, bed sharing tends to be unpopular and contentious. That is partly because the American Academy of Pediatrics and other experts warn that it can be unsafe for infants 6 months of age or younger. Many Western parents put infants to sleep in cribs or beds in a separate room — often using a practice known as 'sleep training', in which infants are taught to sleep independently. Modern ideas about separating mothers and babies at night have their roots in campaigns by 'Victorian-era influencers' in Britain and the US, according to How Babies Sleep, a book published this year by the anthropologist Helen Ball. Even though there isn't much scientific literature on bed sharing, studies generally show that the practice is far more common in Asia than in the West. (Other regions where bed sharing is popular, including Latin America, aren't as well studied, experts say.) One multicountry survey of parents of infants and toddlers from 2010 found that bed-sharing rates were over 60% in China, Japan and South Korea, and over 70% in India and parts of Southeast Asia. The rates in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US ranged from 5 to 15%. Country-level studies since then have broadly reinforced some of those findings, although a 2015 survey in the United States found that 37% of mothers 'rarely or sometimes' bed shared and 24% of them 'often or always' did. Bed-sharing rates in the West may be higher than such figures suggest because stigma around the practice linked to safety concerns in infancy leads some parents to underreport it, said Professor Ball, the director of an infancy and sleep centre at Durham University in Britain. 'I think bed sharing is a much more normal strategy than Westerners recognise,' she said. In parts of Asia, motivations for bed sharing vary by place and family. Some are extremely practical. Some parents in Seoul, a city where many families live in high-rises, share beds with infants because they worry that sleep training them would lead to crying and wake the neighbours, Kim said. In Hong Kong, where apartments are notoriously small, many families don't have extra rooms to put their children in, said Vicky Tsang, who runs breastfeeding support groups in the Chinese territory. She said it is common for bed sharing to last through primary school. 'The space problem is the big factor,' she said. But practical considerations don't always fully explain why bed sharing is popular. In some Asian societies, many couples prioritise the mother-child bond over their own sleep health and marital relationships, said Heejung Park, a professor of psychology at Scripps College in California who has studied bed sharing in the region. In other cases, parents who grew up in bed-sharing households can't imagine a different sleeping arrangement. 'It's so common that no one thinks, 'Is it uncommon?'' said Erin Lim, 39, an entrepreneur in Seoul who grew up in a three-generation household where she slept in the same room as her parents. Erin Lim's sons, Jiyong and Jihun, in their parents' bedroom in Seoul. Now that the boys are older, they have their own bedroom, but Lim still keeps a small bed in her bedroom for them. Photo / Woohae Cho, The New York Times Lim said that she stopped sharing a bed with her older son when he was 4, and with her younger son when he was 2. Now the boys are 9 and 5, and they have their own room. But she still keeps a small bed in her bedroom for if — and when — they wander back in. In India, the cultural attachment to bed sharing is so deep that it tends to persist even among urban elites who are exposed to 'Western sleep training culture', said Himani Dalmia, a sleep specialist in New Delhi who runs a support group for parents and shares a bed with her children, 7 and 9. She said she sometimes gets calls from Indian parents abroad who can't find the sleep advice they're looking for. 'Look,' they tell her. 'We want to bed share, and we can't talk to anyone here about that.' Himani Dalmia, second from left, and Akash Premsen, right, with their daughters Yamini and Devika at their home in New Delhi on June 1, 2025. Dalmia, a sleep specialist who runs a support group for parents, shares a bed with her children. Photo / Saumya Khandelwal, The New York Times One apparent exception in the region is Singapore, a wealthy city-state where reported bed sharing rates are lower than in other East and Southeast Asian countries. Sleep training seems to be increasingly popular there, and some Singaporean parents are reluctant to admit to bed sharing, said Elaine Chow, the president of a local breastfeeding support group. 'Sometimes, if they do mention it, they will mention it kind of guiltily,' she said. Ho Kin Ing, who shares a bed in Singapore with her three girls — 2, 3 and 6 — said that she and her husband once felt significant social pressure to sleep train as they browsed online parenting forums. 'I had a lot of influence and information, and not a lot of intuition,' Ho, 33, said during an interview in her high-rise apartment. 'But I guess that, over the years, that intuition part started to strengthen a little bit.' Her husband, Tan Peng Yong, 37, said they didn't regret choosing to bed share. 'To be woken up by your kids is one of the best feelings ever,' he said, sitting next to a toy bus and a Mrs. Potato Head doll. 'Even when they hit you in the face.' Ho Kin Ing, right, and her husband Tan Peng Yong with their daughters at home in Singapore on June 2, 2025. Photo / Ore Huiying, The New York Times Social pressure around sleeping arrangements can cut the other way, too. In some East Asian societies, choosing not to bed share can be seen as 'harsh parenting', Dr Park said. In her study on sleeping habits in Japan, some mothers said they felt compelled to do it in order to conform to social norms around maternal responsibility. Kim, the mother of two in Seoul, knows the feeling. She sleeps better without her kids in the bed, she said. But her husband insists on family bed sharing because he sees it as essential for a close relationship with his daughters. Some of Kim's friends have children who stayed in the family bed until age 12, even at the expense of their parents' sleep quality and sex lives. That would be too much for her, she said. So she and her husband have decided that their girls will move into what is now their playroom in about two years. Whether that will happen on schedule is an open question. The plan is to install bunk beds, Kim said with a laugh, but neither girl wants to sleep on top. 'It's kind of scary to think about falling off,' she said. Written by: Mike Ives Photographs by: Woohae Cho, Ore Huiying and Saumya Khandelwal ©2025 THE NEW YORK TIMES
Scoop
4 days ago
- Scoop
Māori Nurses Recognised As Stars By Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand With Inaugural National ‘Whetū' Awards
Press Release – Te Kohao Health Te Waimaarino Patena (Ngti Hua) and Paula Walker (Thoe, Maniapoto), both based at Te Khao Health, were recognised for their exemplary professional practice as outstanding nurses. Two Māori nurses from Kirikiriroa have been named as the first-ever recipients of Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand's new national Whetū Awards, which honour outstanding contributions in primary health care community-based nursing. Te Waimaarino Patena (Ngāti Hāua) and Paula Walker (Tūhoe, Maniapoto), both based at Te Kōhao Health, were recognised for their exemplary professional practice as outstanding nurses. The awards, launched to coincide with Matariki, celebrate nurses whose work uplifts and supports in powerful ways in the community. Like the stars they are named after, these nurses shine light into spaces that need warmth, trust, and healing. Managing Director of Te Kōhao Health, Lady Tureiti Moxon is delighted to hear the news that not one but two from her team have been nationally recognised. She has long championed that more Māori nurses are needed to achieve transformative change in our health system. 'We need more Māori nurses like Te Waimaarino and Paula. Their mahi restores trust in a system that hasn't always served our people well. When Māori lead, outcomes improve. The national recognition of these wāhine is a testament to the deep, lasting change they're making in the lives of whānau every day.' Te Waimaarino Patena received the Waitī Award. Known for her steady presence and calm, compassionate approach, she has worked on the frontlines of community care for years in respiratory clinics, guiding complex care, and creating safe spaces where whānau feel seen and heard. She is now completing her Nurse Prescriber training at the University of Waikato, the first at Te Kōhao Health to do so. Reflecting on her mahi, she says, 'We just get on with it because our people need us. I'm not here to prove anything I just know we need more of us in these roles. Our people trust us because they see themselves in us.' Paula Walker received the Tupu-a-Nuku Award for her whānau-first approach and commitment to values like manaaki and kotahitanga. She leads the childhood immunisation programme at her clinic, where she works with whānau so they determine their Hauora care plan. 'A lot of people have been told what to do their whole lives,' she says. 'We try to flip that and say, what do you need? What works for you?' Paula's care comes from lived experience walking alongside whānau through their own health challenges has shaped the way she shows up. 'Caring for people isn't something I put on with my uniform,' she said. 'It's simply who I am.' There are over 78,000 practising nurses in Aotearoa. Māori make up only 7 percent of that workforce, despite being over 17 percent of the population. The awards were open to all nurses, yet it's powerful that two Māori nurses have been honoured. The tohu recognise the vital role Māori nurses play in improving health outcomes for their communities that have the highest need in the population.
