Budgie McIlroy has had her fair share of troubles, no more so than 10 years ago when her 29-year-old daughter suddenly passed away leaving behind two young sons aged four and three.
McIlroy and her husband Eru had no hesitation in taking in the boys, despite the fact that at the time she was languishing in hospital herself undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment for cervical cancer.
"My daughter's passing broke my heart," she says. "She had had heart problems but was as fit as a fiddle and probably the hardest part for me was I couldn't be with her because I was in Palmerston North Hospital having chemo and radiation."
Yet this is only one of the remarkable things about McIlroy. For 40 years a resident of the small town of Tolaga Bay on the East Coast, she has spent a lifetime helping others by going above and beyond the call of duty in her job as a care worker and home help with Ngati Porou Hauroa, a health and wellbeing not-for-profit charitable organisation based in Te Puia Springs.
Some of what she has done is astounding: She has, on occasions, paid power bills out of her own money, provided meals, mowed lawns, chopped firewood, crutched sheep, organised a house painting - and frequently been up at all hours of the night to drive people needing emergency medical attention to Gisborne Hospital, 40 minutes down the road from her home.
Once there she will often sit with her clients through the night to give their families a rest: "I don't have a problem with it, sometimes you have to get them to hospital straight away if they're not feeling well. I honestly enjoy it, I was brought up to think of others first."
In 2014 McIlroy was awarded a QSM (Queen's Service Medal) for her services to the community and now is being recognised once more. She has received an ASB Good as Gold award, the bank giving her $10,000 to spend on herself.
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ASB lower North Island regional manager Barry Coffey says McIlroy's story is inspiring.
"Budge is a truly amazing woman," he says. "Her sole focus is on helping others, something she even puts above her own needs. She has impacted so many lives in the Tolaga Bay community and beyond and it's a privilege to be able to celebrate the amazing work she does and to give something back to her."
McIlroy says the ASB award was unexpected and gave her "a bit of a fright" when told. But no-one begrudges her this recognition. Another local, Bev Hauiti, who worked as a social worker with the Salvation Army for over 20 years says she has never in her entire career seen anyone who works as hard for others.
For McIlroy (her real first name is Hinetaina but everyone knows her as Budgie, a nickname given to her by her mother) it comes naturally and is something she regards as normal: "I learnt this from my mum. During her life she looked after over 100 kids – I remember one time she went to a funeral and came back with three kids who had lost their mother.
"I'm quite happy to do what people can't do for themselves," she says. "A lot of it is not part and parcel of my job and I'd probably get shot if people knew, but it's all good and I enjoy doing things to make them happy; I reckon I need them as much as they need me."
Like the time she got to work filling in driveway potholes for one client Nick Butcher who suffers from motor neurone disease and is the person who nominated her for the ASB award.
"He gets about in a mobility scooter and obviously couldn't do it himself. But he's an angel, he's got a heart of gold and he's someone you just want to help," she says. "He's moved to Gisborne now to be closer to medical services but I often look him up when I'm there; every moment with him is a special moment."
On another occasion she volunteered to crutch 18 sheep (this involves removing wool from around the tail and between the legs of the animal for hygiene purposes) for a local who had just got out of hospital and was worried he wasn't yet up to the job.
"I enjoy making them happy and doing what they want," she says. "I was always taught that if others can't smile, then give them yours."
McIlroy has been working for Ngati Porou Hauora for over 20 years helping the elderly, the sick and those recently discharged from hospital with many routine tasks like showering and preparing for bed – enabling them to remain in their homes.
She has lost count of the number of people she has cared for. "At the moment I'm with four or five and I remember one year I had five 90-year-olds to look after."
McIlroy is also heavily involved helping with youth initiatives and sports like waka ama, softball, netball and rugby. Famed locally for her baking - her carrot cake, sponges and cream puffs are legendary in the district - she often includes them in fundraising events she caters for.
Although McIlroy initially thought she would spend the ASB money on her garden, she is now thinking of buying a new car.
The 2005 Ford Territory she currently drives has become a tad unreliable: "It's been in the garage that many times, they can't find out what's wrong. It rumbles a lot, it's causing a lot of havoc and while it would be nice to do up the garden, a car is what I need."