A healthcare worker for 12 years, Jane Smith* (not her real name) was no stranger to helping people, but when a workplace accident in 2020 left her unable to walk, help would prove hard to come by.
Jane is the first to say no one could have foreseen the impact of the events that would follow that day.
She was assisting a patient during her shift when an equipment malfunction caused the patient to slip, with Jane then catching them before falling and “putting my back out” in the process. Feeling some pain, she carried on as normal.
“I took a few days off work and self-managed with pain relief at home, until I woke up one morning and I couldn’t feel my legs.”
Jane underwent surgery on her back, covered by ACC, which only seemed to exacerbate her pain until a second surgery uncovered, and fixed, a fractured bone that was sustained during the first procedure.
Still, the pain continued and the following years saw a series of further accidents and a steady stream of ‘nos’ from various healthcare providers and support agencies.
An independent life
Jane has built a life on being extremely self-sufficient; asking for help does not come easily to her.
“I’ve always been the caretaker to people in my life – at home or in my job,” she says. “But over the past few years, I’ve gotten pretty used to hearing the words ‘no, we can’t help you.”
Originally from Napier, Jane dreamed of being a surgeon when she was young. Life intervened somewhat, she married young and worked in a series of jobs in New Zealand and Australia before having her daughter.
After her husband died unexpectedly, Jane became a single mum to a four-year-old at 31. Working hard to support them both, Jane held a mix of volunteer and paid roles in community and health support roles while working towards a qualification in a patient care role.
“Those roles gave me a reason to carry on. I found it incredibly rewarding helping other people and making a difference in their lives,” she says.
Declining physical and mental health
Fast forward to recently and that sense of purpose was all but gone. Unable to work since her accident, Jane felt her mental wellbeing decline significantly. This only worsened following an accident at home, where she momentarily lost feeling in her foot – something she experiences frequently as a result of her original accident – and fell, severely damaging her teeth.
This time, ACC declined to cover treatment, “no reason given,” and again Jane was left to fend for herself. She needed extensive dental work, which on top of her existing health condition and the daily pain she was managing, was a significant burden to bear.
Jane started spending more time alone, staying home as much as she could, and shutting herself off from her community and daily life.
“On top of everything else, I was now too self-conscious to show anyone my teeth. I didn’t want to talk or smile, so I just stayed home.”
Some light at the end of the tunnel
An email sent on behalf of a community support provider would start to turn the tide for Jane.
That email was a chance contact made to Braemar Charitable Trust, inquiring about the possibility of helping Jane access funding for the dental treatment she desperately needed.
The answer was a resounding ‘yes.’ Jane met the criteria to receive treatment under the Community Surgery Programme, which enables free surgery and health interventions for those who have been declined by the public health system, do not have private medical insurance or ACC cover, or the financial means to pay for the procedure privately.
Jane says she felt like she had won Lotto. “Just to be given a little bit of hope again. It was so encouraging after so many years of feeling like nobody cared.”
The surgery, which involved full teeth extraction to be followed by upper and lower dentures, was performed pro bono by oral surgeon Satish Madhavarajan from Anglesea OMS in Hamilton and anaesthetist Simon Scothern.
Jane says the future seems a little bit more possible now. She is slowly regaining her confidence, reconnecting with friends and family, and taking it one day at a time.
“I am so grateful to Braemar Charitable Trust for this surgery. Honestly, you have no idea what this means to me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Trust continues to help patients
Braemar Charitable Trust’s flagship offering is its Community Surgery Programme, where specialists (surgeons and anaesthetists) donate their time and expertise to perform free surgeries and health interventions for eligible patients.
In the most recent financial year ended 31 March 2025, the Trust enabled 159 free surgeries for those in need, an increase of 124% on the previous year. The Trust spent $88,000 on associated costs but estimates these surgeries and procedures would have cost $500,000 in real terms.