Case Studies

Over the last decade, the Full Colour Trust is proud to have helped more than ten beneficiaries who have experienced a health crisis, or whose work was affected when a dependent family member had health issues.

We hope this selection of stories gives a more rounded picture of what we can do for those in need. They appear in no particular order other than alphabetically by type of problem. Names are not used in some cases for reasons of privacy and not every beneficiary’s story is listed here.

We can help with issues such as these, and more:

T.L.P.

Offset and digital printer T.L.P. was working for the Canterbury Educational Printing Services (CEPS) when, in 2007, his manager noticed T.L.P. had some new difficulties with communication.

His manager arranged a hearing test and uncovered an extraordinary story. T.L.P.’s hearing loss was a result of him serving as an officer in the South Vietnamese Army, allied to US forces, during the Vietnam War. He was engaged in front-line combat, coming under frequent and sustained artillery fire. At one point T.L.P. was captured by the North Vietnamese and subject to physical and mental abuse as a prisoner of war.

Although T.L.P. moved to New Zealand in 1980 and is a New Zealand citizen, his condition is not covered by ACC since he developed it overseas. Neither is he covered by the NZ war veterans’ programme because he has not served in the NZ Army. This was a clear case where the Full Colour Trust could fill the gap, step up and make a difference. Trustees approved funding of high-quality hearing aids that have enabled T.L.P. to continue contributing as a valued and respected member of his workplace team.

Mulligan family

Graphic designer and design tutor Simon Mulligan and his partner Amanda welcomed baby Sophie into the world in 2010.

Sophie was born with Charge Syndrome, a complex genetic syndrome involving extensive medical and physical difficulties that vary in combination and severity from child to child. Sophie required 24hr care and observation from birth for months, meaning her parents were inevitably highly stressed, lacking sleep and unable to work to capacity. The Mulligans were also faced with unexpected medical expenses. They needed time to learn how to administer much of the specialist care Sophie required, and develop new work schedules to support their family unit.

The Full Colour Trust was able to fund specialist respite care for Sophie for one day each week for six months. This precious day allowed Simon to better manage his workload as a freelance designer and Amanda to research Sophie’s condition.

The family was eventually able to find longer-term support for Sophie at the wonderful Champion Centre which helps their little girl reach her potential.

T.C.

A full-time guillotine worker at BJ Ball was experiencing adult-onset, rapidly worsening hearing loss.

It was recommended that T.C. have a stapedectomy operation on his middle ear before the problem got so much worse the procedure could deliver little benefit. In 2007, the procedure cost approximately $7,000 and T.C.’s surgeon advised there was little or no chance of getting it done in a timely fashion through the public system. Medical insurance covered some of the cost but left about $2,500 for the patient to fund.

In spite of taking on additional weekend gardening work, T.C. could not fund the difference and the problem had to be fixed quickly. Trustees of the Full Colour Trust learned that the chance of benefit after this procedure is rated at 98% and elected to fund the surgery without delay. T.C. subsequently experienced an immediate and considerable improvement in his hearing.

Nick Wright

Nick Wright, a senior designer at iMagic, sadly became terminally ill with cancer. He was unable to work or support his family for many months before he died in 2015.

His employer geared up to help and workmates surrounded him and his family with all kinds of support. However, there was one aspect of assistance they felt was best handled by an independent third party: managing all the funds received from their own fund raising activities and the Givalittle page they set up to support Nick’s wife and children.

The Full Colour Trust was able to assist not only with collating funds raised from all the different sources in one place, but also with arranging a charity film night event specifically to raise money for the Wright family. The Trust released funds to the family as they were needed and, after Nick’s death, all remaining funds raised in his name were paid to a trust set up for his children.

L.A.C.

L.A.C. worked for thirty years as a trained printer, print consultant and print sales executive, before experiencing visual disturbances and violent headaches in 2009.

L.A.C. was diagnosed with a tumour, a benign meningioma about the size and shape of a medium-sized egg, in the right occipital lobe of the brain, the area that processes visual information. L.A.C. needed an operation urgently in order to continue to work in the print industry but, if booked in the public system, this would be months away and give the tumour time to grow.

Medical insurance meant an operation could happen sooner but covered only 80% of the costs of surgery so L.A.C. applied to the Trust for funds to cover the shortfall. A timely operation was scheduled, the costs were covered jointly by insurance and the Full Colour Trust, and L.A.C. was back at work within five weeks.

Rachel Alexander

In the winter of 2008, Rachel Alexander’s oldest son suffered a brain injury after a tobogganning accident.

Rachel owns and operates a marketing, advertising and design business based in Christchurch, but her little boy needed treatment at the other end of the country, in Starship Children’s Hospital in Auckland. At a time when her ability to work was greatly reduced by the need for her to be at her son’s bedside in Auckland, Rachel was faced with significant unexpected costs for travel not covered by ACC or other agencies.

She applied directly to the Full Colour Trust and the trustees agreed to cover costs of transport for Rachel’s weekly visits to Auckland while her son recovered in hospital.

P.M.

Respected printer and owner of a printing company. He was diagnosed with leukemia in 2009.

He had no medical insurance but his conventional treatment costs were covered under the public health system. Initially, chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant gave positive results for P.M. but unfortunately his condition worsened in September 2010.

He applied to the Trust for funding to cover complementary therapy including treatment with intravenous Vitamin C. The Trust funded Vitamin C infusions for four months that gave P.M. more energy and allowed him to continue working part-time for longer. He is fondly remembered but sadly he died in February 2011 aged only 55.

Mhairi Flett

Our first beneficiary, Mhairi Flett, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer in 2006.

Her best predicted outcome was to receive treatment with Herceptin, at that time standard in Australia and Britain for early-stage cancer but only available in New Zealand to extend the life of terminal patients. A course of the drug typically cost between $70,000 – $100,000 a decade ago.

Mhairi’s work colleagues got together to find a way to get her the treatment she was most likely to benefit from, which resulted in the Full Colour Trust being formed.

Helped by generic media exposure about Herceptin funding in New Zealand, the Trust organised and managed a glittering event that raised over $80,000. The Trust paid medical professionals directly and covered the full amount required for Mhairi’s course of Herceptin. Ten years later, she is well and still working as a paper sales representative in the print industry.

Garry Porter

I have worked within the Print Industry for nearly 50 years. In June 2014, I was diagnosed with an aggressive Prostate Cancer. I had a radical Prostatectomy in August of that year, followed by 7 weeks of Radiotherapy. Unfortunately after a PSMA Pet Scan, the cancer had spread and in 2017 had further Radiotherapy for a tumour on my lung.

A follow up PSMA Pet scan in 2019, not funded under the public health system showed that another tumour had developed in my right lung. This required urgent surgery, we were fortunate to still have private insurance. However our insurance only covered 80% and the balance for the surgery was a sizeable sum. The company I was working for at the time, Spectrum Print, put my case forward. With the help of the Full Colour Trust, I was able to go ahead with the operation, and the tumour was removed.

Two years further on and another tumour has developed which is inoperable, and can’t be treated by Radiotherapy. So I have started Hormone Therapy which I will be on for the rest of my life. With the surgery and the medication I am on, I can happily say I am cancer free at the moment. I have been told it will return but for now everything is rosy.

The balance of the cost of the operation and PSMA Pet scan covered by Full Colour Trust was for my Wife and me a huge gesture. It took away the worry and stress of all the accounts coming and needed to be paid. We will be forever grateful.