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Patsy Matete – Te Arawa / Gisborne

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“I enjoyed myself in Covid-19 going for a walk. My doctor told me to walk. It’s good. I do more walking now. My staff have noticed that I have lost weight. I want to set a goal. I can still do it.

I have walked up Kaiti Hill 25 times. I’m a bit slower up that. I get tired but I make it all the way up the third hill. I drink water. You have to be careful with the heat.

The Lockdown was a bit boring at home sometimes. The hardest thing was not being able to go up town. That was the hardest. The pool stopped. Harry couldn’t go and see his mother. We have been married 19 years.

I went to the Botanical Gardens. I liked walking under the trees.

I couldn’t go to my job. I’ve got a job at the Salvation Army shop. I do the shelves, wiping the shelves, keeping them clean and keeping the spray away from the children.

I do kapa haka and craft. I couldn’t do it during the Covid. I couldn’t go for groceries. I do numeracy and literacy. I did it with the tutor on the phone.

I did some cooking. I would have cornflakes for breakfast and a muesli bar.

I got meals delivered. Some of them were healthy. They were too healthy! I like doing it by myself now. No fish and chips. Whoever does the dinner doesn’t have to do the dishes.

I like gardening. I did artwork.

We had to wear a mask and protect ourselves. The staff needed to wear a mask. The staff needed to stay this far apart. It’s the ones that are crying on the TV that I feel sorry for.

The virus is finished. It was good to see our friends again.” – 17 September 2020

This article appeared in Life in a Pandemic, a book about disabled and autistic people in Covid-19 Lockdown, 2020. © Life Unlimited Charitable Trust (now known as Your Way | Kia Roha).

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Patsy Matete – Te Arawa / Gisborne

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