“…I can hear them sing.”

October 6th, 2022

“I can hear the sound of their voices, I can hear them sing.”

There’s the sound of children’s laughter and singing coming from the living room. The television is playing quietly, and there’s the occasional strum of the guitar.

Suia gets emotional when she stresses how important that is to her.

“I just want to say thank you, thank you so much. The Hospice’s work has allowed me to stay home with my babies.  I can hear the sound of their voices, hear them sing, and it’s all because of the Hospice.”

“As a parent and a grandparent it’s so important to me. It’s been phenomenal.”

Suia, 61, was a Mary Potter Hospice community patient. She was the first person in her family to get a degree and started her nursing training at Whitireia when her fourth child started school. She went on to support her family. 

Suia credits her son Sione with helping her to get her degree. “If it wasn’t for my son, I couldn’t have done it. Sione was at college and we were up 2 – 3 hours a night so he could help me. If it wasn’t for him, and my mother, I would have given up. It was very hard for me, and the only thing that kept me going was those two.”

Suia enjoys the presence and energy of some of her grandchildren – Theia, Ava, Juan and James.

She graduated when she was 34 and worked as a nurse in aged care, then ran a large Brisbane medical practice with 13 doctors.

She came back to New Zealand three years ago to look after her granddaughter. Covid stopped her returning to to life in Australia.

Born in Samoa where her Tokelauan parents were working – mum as a nurse and dad as an electrician – Suia was the third of seven siblings.  They settled first in Newtown, then Porirua.

“We came to New Zealand because mum and dad wanted a better life for us, and for schooling. We had no money. We came by the grace of God and family who paid for our fares.”

Her parents passed away just three days apart. 

“When I think about it, it gives me great joy that it happened that way.  They were buried together, but I made sure that mum was on the top.  She was the head of the household!”

She is grateful for the help she has got from Mary Potter Hospice.

“I have to say that it’s the best thing. The things they’ve done for me – the equipment, the support, the visits, the communication 24/7. They have been so kind. This bed is beautiful.  It’s the most comfortable thing I’ve ever had.”

But the biggest joy for Suia has been being able to stay at home with her family around her – those who have come from Australia and from the UK, and local family.

“I want the Hospice to have something. I wish I could tell more people about what the Hospice has done for me. Not just for me by myself, but my family. My children, my brothers and sisters – it’s been wonderful to have them at home.

“It’s all about people – you cannot do it without them.  Doctors, nurses – everyone.  What you do is amazing and hopefully they’ll now hear what you’ve done for me.” 

In her last days, Suia said she wanted to help the Hospice by sharing her story with people like you, to help give back what’s been given to her.

It’s our incredible privilege to care for patients like Suia in their own homes, but we need your support to keep our specialist services free of charge. Your donation will help us continue to be phenomenal every day.

Please, will you help us achieve Suia’s wish to give something back to the Hospice?