On November 29 2020, I wheeled into the office for my first day of work, nervous?  Oh yes, that and anxious, I was remembering what happened with the last job and so yes I was trying to keep myself calm.

I need not have worried, my colleagues were and still are amazing people, and just quietly between us, I think they are glad I am there, to be honest.

Accessibility-wise there isn’t much to tell, there’s a lift up to my floor, and the door from my desk that goes to the offices is left open while I am there, as the doors are very heavy.  I will be receiving a fob key in the future as we have had to lock the doors going to my desk while we have COVID.

I absolutely love my job, so much so that I have been told I am likely the only person to actually LOVE going to work….because every time there’s a holiday or the weekend, I can’t wait to get back to work!

I am currently there 6 hours a week but my boss, who also is the Service Manager for my house, wants to increase them.  She also wants me to utilise my advocacy skills, I am looking forward to seeing where this goes.

I am enjoying getting greeted by people I can now call colleagues and being able to greet people who come up to receive timesheets or PPE or because they have an appointment with someone.  I am currently capturing client files that will then go down to Christchurch, where they will then be scanned as we become digital….this is actually a fun job as you get to learn about people, my favourites are those referred to us by Veterans services.

About the writer: 

I am a 41-year-old man, who is born and raised in New Zealand. I have PHACES Syndrome which is very rare (there are only around 5 of us in NZ and I am the oldest we know of here), this affects my brain, senses, muscles, nervous system, vascular system, as well as the skeleton and connective tissue.

I have a Certificate in Social Services (Biculturalism), which helps me in my advocacy work, but I would love to work with children with special education needs. I write poetry, short stories and have written a song. I also paint and play a strong part in my Church community. I love knitting and music, anything related to space and cats, and my favourite show is Star Trek.

I was recently published in a book, telling my experience over lockdown as a person with a disability.