Speakers at our Tuesday Evening meeting at Remuera Golf Club were Dan Buckingham and Grant Sharman.
Grant and Dan lives are intertwined through rugby and their involvement with the Wheel Blacks. Grant has competed in the Paralympics and became the coach of the Wheel Blacks, while Dan played in the gold medal-winning team at Athens.
Both Grant and Dan worked for Attitude, a program on disabilities, and have been involved in the disability sector.
Grant and Dan adopted a question and answer format for their address to us. At the outset they both acknowledged their long-standing relationship, emphasizing their involvement with the Wheel Blacks.
They went on to speak of their recent involvement with the Catwalk Trust, having joined the board officially in November and becoming the chair this year.
Grant spoke about his involvement with the Catwalk Trust and his motivations for being heavily involved. In doing so I told us of his journey through life and his involvement with the Catwalk Trust.
Grant told us of initial scepticism about the possibility of curing spinal cord injuries but was impressed by the work of the Catwalk Trust. He mentioned his mother's reaction to the idea of a cure and how attending a Catwalk event changed his perspective.
Grant said that he joined the board of Catwalk to support the research and development of a cure, emphasizing the importance of giving others the choice to live a full life. He reflected on his own experiences and the impact of his injury on his life, highlighting the need for a cure to improve the lives of others.
Dan then shared his experience as an 18-year-old student at Otago and how sport helped him adapt to his disability. He emphasized the importance of living a full life with a disability and the role of the Catwalk Trust in achieving this goal. Dan told us of the physical challenges of living with a spinal cord injury and the adaptations he has had to make. Dan highlighted the importance of family support and the impact of his injury on his parents.
Grant and Dan moved on to discuss the physical challenges of living with a spinal cord injury, including bladder and bowel function, and the need for adaptations.
Grant shares his experience of working with new patients and the importance of individualized care.
Grant and Dan went on to discuss the progress made in medical support and the need for continued research and development.
Grant reflected on the importance of living a full life despite the challenges and the role of the Catwalk Trust in supporting this. His comments lead to a discussion about the research conducted by the Catwalk Trust and the progress made in finding a cure for spinal cord injuries. They highlighted the importance of funding and the need for a long-term commitment to research.
Grant and Dan said the Catwalk Trust has funded various strands of research, including drug therapy, electrical stimulation, cell regeneration, and ultrasound. They also emphasized the importance of collaboration with other researchers globally and the potential for New Zealand to become a centre for spinal cord excellence.
Going forward the Catwalk Trust aims to continue funding research and development to find a cure for spinal cord injuries. Grant and Dan discussed the importance of being nimble and adaptable in their research approach, focusing on the most promising strands.
The Catwalk Trust encourages community involvement and support for their research and development efforts. Dan and Grant noted the importance of sharing the message of hope and the potential for a cure. The goal is to involve as many people as possible in the journey towards finding a cure for spinal cord injuries.
Concluding their address Dan and Grant acknowledged the contribution of
David Pretorius’s contributions to the leadership of the Catwalk Trust.
Dan and Grants address lead to an enthusiastic question and answer session.
Dan and Grant were thanked by Libby Hennessy
After our meeting Grant sent Brian McMath an email thanking us for hosting he and Dan. The text follows below.
Evening Brian
Forgive this late email but I've just got home and wanted to drop you a quick note to say what a wonderful evening I had and I think I can say that on behalf of Dan and David. The club were extremely welcoming and we had a very interesting evening hearing about activities that your Club is involved with. I must say that was extremely impressive and you certainly have a big impact as a club on the community.
Dan and I enjoyed speaking to your Club members. Hopefully our answers were semi coherent and we got across some good points. We finished with some very pertinent questions which we enjoyed answering. We also got an opportunity to thank David as our outgoing Chair using your Club dinner to facilitate that.
I hope your biotech conference goes well and I look forward to catching up with you shortly one on one.
Once again thank you for the opportunity to present to the Rotarians, and we at CatWalk wish you all the very best for your endeavours and can I just add that if any of your members would like to learn more about what we're doing at CatWalk with respect to some form of continued support then please send them in my direction and I'll make sure that they speak to the right people.
