Honey’s life fell apart after a foot injury put her off work indefinitely. Coming from a family of hard workers, she soon felt lost.
“I didn’t want to go out or see anyone. I saw myself as useless and ugly because I didn’t have work in my life. I didn’t know what to do with myself. During that time, my father passed away too, and I fell ill, ending up in hospital,” she said.
Diagnosed with diabetes and social phobia, as well as depression, life continued down a spiral. “I felt good for nothing. I would sleep. Just go to my bedroom, get under my blankets, eat, then go back into my room.”
With key support from her nurse and a Pegasus Health navigator, Jess, Honey’s health slowly began to improve. “When Jess suggested I try out a course called Taking the First Step, and it’s about empowering women, I said ‘ok’, once I knew there would only be about 8 other attendees.” Trusting Jess’ advice, Honey gave the Taking the First Step facilitator a call.
“Sarah’s voice [the facilitator] just draws you. You know when you are talking to someone and feel ‘wow.’ She was so caring and understanding. There was a lot of wairua tapu for me that I sensed it would be interesting. On the first day, I was all shy, but adamant I would come. When I had met Sarah before the course, I trusted her straight away,” said Honey.
“The vulnerability on Day 1 introducing ourselves, was the deal breaker you could say. It broke the ice with everyone. In each and everyone’s story we could all relate in one way shape or form. It’s that connection -those kinds of things they never go away. I thought, ‘I’m so glad I came,’ and got a real sense of relief,” explained Honey. She added that the women remained in contact with each other even after the course had finished.
“I never knew there was so many networks out there that could help every one of us. It was quite amazing. Sarah produced things that could help us in our life, and many things we had no idea even existed,” explained Honey.
“During life you store all the information and then, when one thing happens, it’s lost. But in reality, it’s still there. This course made me find myself again. I was lost before I came here. Every day I was starting to smile more, everything was opening up. I always knew I had a seed, but every day it grew. My children have seen a difference – they’ve seen their own mum come back.”
Identifying her strengths and passions, as well as learning again to value herself was a real benefit of the course. “My strength was relating well to other people, and I wanted to be in the medical sector as well,” said Honey. And today, she has combined both working a job she loves.
“The doctors, the nurse, Jess, Sarah all opened up the doors for me, and brought me back to who I once was and maybe shine again. This course pretty much ended all that was wrong with me, all those sicknesses, and it brought out the best things in me,” added Honey.
Honey is now a regular guest speaker on the “Taking the First Step” course, sharing her story and inspiring many others.