Paraparaumu mother of one Karissa Warren, 20, understands the benefits of support through Mary Potter Hospice, after she received free counseling in 2022.
When her grandmother and “inspiration” was diagnosed with cancer in June of that year, Karissa, then 17 and pregnant, was afraid of losing one of the most precious people in her life.
“My grandmother is an amazing woman and as kids, my siblings and I were always around her and we all went on holidays all the time,” she shares.
“My grandfather thought it’d be good to have an outlet to process what was happening and so he asked if I wanted to do counseling through Mary Potter Hospice.”
During art and talk therapy sessions, Karissa was able to understand more about her grandmother’s diagnosis, as well as the change in her personality due to the onset of dementia.
“My grandma was booked in straight away to have rounds of radiation, which revealed an entire disk in her spine was cancerous and pushing up against the cord in her spine. From there, she went downhill quickly,” Karissa recalls. “She went into Wellington Hospital and then Keneperu Hosptial, before a resthome. But she was only in the resthome about 11 months before she was able to live back at home, since she’d made so much progress!”
At the peak of her grandmother’s fight with cancer, Karissa received four counseling sessions before she gave birth to a baby son, whose identity she wishes to keep private.
Karissa describes the service as “really helpful”, having provided her with tools she can use for the rest of her life.
“I was taught healthy ways to process and understand what was happening, because it was a lot to take in, especially the dementia side of it. That was hard because she was still my grandma, but it was like she wasn’t at the same time,” Karissa says. “Having more of an idea about what happens with dementia really helped me.”
Miraculously, Karissa’s grandmother celebrated her 80th birthday in June this year.
“She still has some moments but, overall, Grandma is really well. My son and I go and see her and Granddad a lot and try to spend as much time as possible with them.”
Karissa, like the organisers of the Strawberry Festival, encourages locals to support Mary Potter Hospice so it can continue offering life-changing services for free.
When this weekend’s family-focused fundraiser takes place at Kāpiti Primary School, an estimated 8000 punnets of strawberries and 1000 litres of ice cream will be consumed by attendees; similar to previous years.
An array of food trucks will also be on-site from 9am to 3pm, accompanied by live entertainment, activities and rides for kids, and retail stallholders.
Started by a small group of volunteers in 2006, the Strawberry Festival was originally held at Maclean Park, in Paraparaumu Beach, before moving to Kāpiti Primary School to accommodate larger crowds.
“Over time, the Strawberry Festival has grown and become an important fundraising and public awareness event on Mary Potter Hospice’s calendar,” event organisers conclude. “We look forward to bringing another brilliant day out to Kāpiti this weekend.”
The festival runs from 9.30am to 3pm on Saturday, November 16, at Kāpiti Primary School.
Access is through the Kāpiti Primary School gates on Rimu Rd, behind Coastlands. Entry is gold coin donation.
