Stacey Roche at Natural Fit Gym. Photo / Rebecca Mauger
Stacey Roche has ticked a load of entries off her bucket list and now faces her biggest challenge.
Walking, unaided.
The Mt Maunganui resident and disability advocate is learning to walk again and it’s the toughest thing she’s done.
‘’I’ve done so much, I’ve learnt to drive, I’ve gone to university, I’ve lived in Auckland, worked the dream job, succeeded in sport, written a book but, hands down, this is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.
‘’It’s my next mission in life.’’
Stacey hasn’t been able to walk without her ‘’Johnny Walker’' for about eight years. Her steadiness on her feet has deteriorated over the years with cerebral palsy, which affects the brain and muscles.
She relies on her walker for short distances and, if she’s not driving, zips around on her wheelchair.
‘’Even with my walker I’ve deteriorated and I could see the writing on the wall. But I don’t want this to be my future. Trusting myself to walk has been massive and very hard. It probably doesn’t look hard, but it is.’’
Stacey has been attending Natural Fit Gym daily for five months and works with exercise therapist Olly Coffey.
Her biggest struggle is overcoming a fear of falling, as she’s had some serious falls.
‘’The first day it took me five minutes to take that first step, it took every ounce of willpower. It’s like being chased by about 40 lions ... everything in my head is saying ‘Stop, danger’ but now it’s only about two or three lions chasing me.’’
She is walking unaided for short distances at the gym with Olly beside her. For the first time in her life, she’s able to walk up and down stairs.
It’s a battle between her mind and her body.
Her brain is telling her to move her limbs, but her muscles are tensing and there’s sensory overload to deal with.
You can see the concentration on her face because distraction can lead to falls.
Olly says about 95 per cent of learning to walk unaided is mindset.
‘’While exercising with cerebral palsy there’s a lot of spasm or tension behind the scenes so it’s more animated. I’ve taught her to be less reactive so what I’ve done is change the way she reacts to stressful situations.
‘’Every single step Stacey is taking we are trying to relax her hands, drop her shoulders, change her breath, be calm ... that’s what takes the energy. That’s why most behaviour change is notoriously hard and I take my hat off to Stacey going through the process with such composure.’’
Stacey is a competitive sportswoman. She once represented New Zealand at the World Boccia championships and at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics.
She’s worked with the Halberg Foundation as an advocate for people with disabilities in Auckland for 12 years.
‘’I educated teachers and coaches on how to include people with disabilities and to create change – to educate people that anyone can do sport, the sport just needs to be modified.’’
Another part of her role was to remove the stigma of disability. She does contract work and is asked to speak at events, including Katikati U3A’s April meeting.
She encourages people to look beyond the way she walks and talks.
‘’You get sick of people assuming I am not capable of holding a job, driving a car or being a valuable member of a team. It’s a bit sad that we still need to educate people these days.
‘’These speaking gigs ... the more I can do, and the more I get out there and talk to people, change will happen. If people are exposed to people like myself they’re not going to treat the next person as bad or assume that they’ve not got much to offer.’’
Stacey is proud of her progress.
‘’It’s just like everyone else so it shouldn’t be a thing but I think I have really pulled myself back from the brink of thinking it’s all over.’’
Elevated activity has been observed at White Island recently.