NZer's lessons from tsunami hell

Shaun Hickey was swept away by giant waves after trying to reach a bus in the Patong district. Picture / Kenny Rodger

Just before Christmas Shaun Hickey was having festive season drinks with some work contacts from Victim Support. Two weeks later it was Victim Support meeting him at the airport after he suffered a near-death experience during the Asian tsunami.

Mr Hickey, State/NZI Insurance corporate relations manager, and his partner Emma Dini flew to Thailand several days after the drinks with regional Victim Support managers, for what was meant to be a last-minute holiday.

But on Boxing Day morning, as the Auckland couple were piling bacon and eggs onto their plates, the first of several deadly waves rolled onto the beach outside their hotel in Patong.

After trying to escape to the inside of a bus Mr Hickey was swept away in a torrent of murky water. For three minutes he was tossed among concrete, fence posts and other bodies.

"It was like being in a mincer. I was pretty much in the water the whole time. I just thought it was curtains for me."

By the time the 38-year-old was washed to safety he had a hole in his foot, deep cuts up his legs and scratches on his face and upper body.

Ms Dini badly cut her legs falling through a roof while trying to reach higher ground.

When the couple reunited they made their way to a mountain where they sat for six hours before being taken to a hospital. That was where the enormity of what had just happened began to sink in.

"There was a morgue, people were lying on the floor and there were bodies with tags on their toes."

During the next few days the "euphoria" of surviving wore off and they both had to start dealing with the experience.

Ms Dini began to suffer "survivor guilt".

Talking to others in the hospital helped a lot and Mr Hickey attributes much of his "healing" to that.

The rest he attributes to the help by Victim Support Staff when they returned to New Zealand.

Victim Support launches its annual fundraising appeal today. Mr Hickey said the pre-Christmas drinks with Victim Support staff had been partly a celebration of the recent partnership between his company and the voluntary organisation, which provides 24 hour support and advice to more than 100,000 victims each year.

Mr Hickey said while he knew what the organisation did, it was only by experiencing the support in the weeks following the tsunami that he could appreciate its true value.

Victim Support put Mr Hickey and Ms Dini in contact with other tsunami victims, offered emotional support and guidance and directed them to a trauma counsellor, who they still see on a regular basis.

Mr Hickey said it was important to realise trauma could affect anyone at any time and seeking help or support was nothing to be ashamed of. The process, he said, was made easier by the professionally-trained victim support staff.

Victim Support's annual appeal starts in Auckland today with the launch of a new icon - the Sun Badge.

Chief executive Steve Caldwell said the badge is based on the Victim Support logo depicting a sun coming out from behind cloud and rain.

How to give

* Victim Support launches its annual appeal week in Auckland today. It runs until next Wednesday.

* To donate $20 phone 0900 VICTIM