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| STORIES FROM OUR PEOPLE | 
| Gillian Gorick | Gillian Gorick was born in England and immigrated to New Zealand in 1957.
She
came to Hamilton to work as a Physiotherapist at the Waikato Hospital
on a two year contract and retired 27 years later. Gillian became
Charge Physiotherapist in 1962. In her early days as a Physiotherapist
at the hospital people who required hydrotherapy treatment for
fractures, broken necks or backs were treated in a Hubbard Tank.
Patients were transported in a trolley to the tank and then physically
lifted by the Physiotherapists up and over the edge into the water.
At
a later date a track type lifting device was attached to the ceiling to
enable easier transfer of patients into the tank. This made the whole
process easier on the patients and on the Physiotherapist’s backs.
In
1972 a new Physiotherapy Department was built in the basement at the
Waikato Hospital and this included a Hydrotherapy Pool. Having a
purpose built hydrotherapy pool was wonderful because people with a
variety of injuries could now be treated at the same time. Patients
with broken necks, fractures, back injuries and those with
rehabilitation requirements were catered for but at this point there
weren’t any out patient classes held for arthritics. The hospital
physiotherapists only treated hospital patients in the hydrotherapy
pool unless outpatients had a referral from a doctor.
Hydrotherapy
is used as a treatment for rehabilitation from trauma, surgery or
accidents because the warm water is soothing and supporting. People who
have difficulty moving on land can move more easily when they are in
water due to the fact they become non weight bearing. The water is
supportive offering assistance and resistance which helps to soothe the
patient’s pain.
Gillian retired from her job at the
hospital in 1984 but she didn’t retire from a life of caring for
people becoming an advocate for a Down Syndrome woman taking her
shopping and helping to organise her finances. For 16 years she worked
as a volunteer for the Presbyterian Home Support Group where she was
responsible for one or two clients taking them to do their shopping,
banking and on monthly group outings. Gillian also tutored in reading
literacy; has an involvement with Family Start (Families at Risk) and
knits for the Intensive Care Nursery. She was responsible for starting
the first toy library for children with Special Needs in New Zealand
and there are now over 200 all over the country.
Gillian is a
huge supporter of a community use hydrotherapy pool in the city. Over
the period of fundraising for the Hamilton Hydrotherapy Pool Gillian
has single handedly raised $1,950 by accepting clothes, saucepans,
books, plastic containers, ribbon, paper; in fact she has taken
anything and everything that anyone wanted to give her. The items were
offered to friends and organizations for a donation towards the
Hydrotherapy Pool.
“Of all the clothes given to me over
the years I have only had to wash two articles and rarely if ever have
I had to mend anything”, Gillian said.
Some materials are
recycled making sheets for babies cots etc and those she can’t
use or that no-one else wants are given to the Salvation Army or
Habitat. Kindergartens and Play Groups benefit from the ribbons and
paper.
Gillian says “Friends and acquaintances are fed up
with being asked if they would like an article of clothing or some
other item. I have never tried to sell anything, it is just offered for
a donation and people are so generous some donate much more than the
article is worth”.
“It is exciting that the
hydrotherapy pool is about to be built and I would have liked to have
raised $2,000 but I am unsure I will get there now with $50 still to go
to reach that sum. I will keep trying though because a hydrotherapy
pool is important and will be of benefit to many people in
Hamilton”.
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