Close up look at volunteer work
Editor takes up challenge
Jim Puki is a volunteer driver for the Cancer Society. He also trains drivers so when they take a patient to Palmerston North Hospital or Wellington or wherever, they are thoroughly conversant with all the locations and procedures.
Once a year Volunteer Whanganui runs a programme called I Dare You.
“I created this idea to raise awareness of volunteering and what volunteers do,” says Sandra Rickey, Volunteer Whanganui manager. “That's where we get people — business leaders, managers, editors of the Midweek — to do a stint as a volunteer for a couple of hours.” It was my turn.
Last Thursday I took a ride with Jim to Palmerston North. We were taking a cancer patient and his wife on a trip that could end in either tears or jubilation.
Jim has been a volunteer driver for two and a half years and sees it as community service, fitting it in and around his part-time casual social work. As a family, he says, they are all involved with the Cancer Society.
Jim's day job is at Omahanui Special Care Unit where he works with people with brain injuries, but his previous work history is vast and varied, having taken him around the world, including living in Tokyo for six years. A conversation with Jim is an education.
“I love taking the clients of the Cancer Society, they are awesome,” says Jim, “And you get to meet so many people.”
All the volunteering details are taken care of by Cheyenne Akehurst, volunteer coordinator (and Jim's niece), so Jim and his fellow drivers know exactly who they are taking, where they are going and how long it should take.
That day we were to pick up cancer patient Tony and his wife Margaret (not their real names) and they had given their consent for me to accompany them.
Tony has been enduring treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma for the past six months and it has had a huge effect on their lives. Margaret goes with Tony on every trip.
“Today's quite a big day,” says Tony. “I get the results back from a PET scan today. It's been a big six months.
“It certainly changes your perspective on things.”
“It comes down to family and friends,” says Jim. “The ones
you hold close to you, who want to be there for you.
“You don’t need negativity in your life,” says Tony, “Even when you’re not ill.”
Tony lost his hair during chemotherapy but it’s growing back. He’s mainly happy his nostril hair has returned so his nose doesn’t run so much. Margaret was forever buying tissues.
The couple have been together for 27 years and their deep love for each other is obvious.
The trip is to the oncology department to see Tony’s haematologist. He’s hoping for good news.
We talked a lot on the road to Palmerston North, covering a lot of subjects, including cancer. Jim’s extensive life experiences helped keep the conversation varied and interesting. Underneath the banter there was a mixture of hope and dread, wondering how the meeting would go.
Tony talked about the chemotherapy and how the doctors determined how much he could take by his body’s response to each dose. He was not subjected to radiation.
“It’s a gradual increase to a point where you can’t take any more.”
He says he was also given steroids with each chemo dose.
Tony talked about the power of the word “cancer” and how everybody has been touched by it somehow. That led to Margaret’s employer allowing her time off and adjusting her working hours so she was able to look after Tony.
We talked about Whanganui and the rejuvenation of Castlecliff. We found lots in common and were able to cover a lot of conversational ground, making the time between towns fly by.
Before we knew it, Jim was turning into Tremaine Ave, driving though the busy industrial sector, while Tony talked about how a PET scan works and how the radiation in his body meant he had to keep away from children and vulnerable people until it passed. Before he’d finished Jim was steering into the Palmerston North Hospital carpark where volunteer drivers from Whanganui had allotted spaces.
Jim is well-known in the hospital. He greeted lots of people by name and they did the same. There is also a Cancer Society desk inside the front door.
We followed the blue line along corridors until our destination.
The waiting area in oncology comes equipped with a TV, comfortable chairs and complimentary tea, coffee and Milo. The woman at reception was friendly, talkative and funny. The Chase was on the telly.
“And in the afternoon it’s Tipping Point,” says Jim. He has spent a lot of time in these chairs. He has also explored the hospital and could easily act as a guide if required. The cafeteria is not far away and food is varied, says Jim.
No one trained Jim for this job. “I learned by making a lot of mistakes,” he says. “The first place I went was the main desk at the front.”
Jim and I helped ourselves to coffee.
Jim, Tony and Margaret chatted as old friends, which they are.
Before long Tony and Margaret were called to their appointment so Jim and I talked. Well, he told stories and I laughed a lot. He told me some of his history.
“My forte is airline accounting, so I’ve worked with a number of airlines.” They include Air New Zealand, Lufthansa and Air Japan. “I’ve travelled the world, and then, all of a sudden I said I’ve had enough. I want to come home. I missed my family.”
Then Tony and Margaret reappeared, with big smiles on their faces. Tony is clear! Hugs all round.
“That’s awesome news,” says Jim. It means he won’t be bringing Tony to Palmerston North any more.
I saw a lot that day. I saw how volunteer drivers are much more than nameless chauffeurs. They are friends. They and their clients learn each other’s backgrounds and life stories. They share conversations and emotions on journeys that can be fraught with pain and distress and, sometimes, joy. People like Jim are citizens of great worth and we should celebrate who they are and what they do. Without them the world would be a poorer place.
“All those people who moan and complain about things should do this for a while,” says Jim.