Partners Papers
Issue Six
Dec 2014
In this edition
we have articles on:
l
I
am truly grateful
l
Why
work rocks!
l
The
problem when we don’t
know what the problem is
l
Beauty
and the Beast
l
The
bad, the good, and
the ugly of disability
income protection
l
Update
on Partners Life
High Five-0 Challenge
in aid of the Mental
Health Foundation
As we look forward to Christmas and the summer holidays,
we might reflect on the year gone, the personal highs and
lows, the “what if’s”, and the “thank goodness it didn’t.”
an insurance claim has meant for you, or even what problems
having inadequate insurance has caused you. Your stories will
qualify you for our draw to win one of our gift hampers.
This edition of Partners Papers is themed around the value of
work in our lives, and how disability income products can help
when that work is interrupted by poor health.
As 2014 draws to a close, for those of you
planning to join Mal, Simon and the rest
of the Partners Life team at The Dual, may
I wish you hours of happy training and
for all of our customers, may I wish you
a happy, healthy and fun Christmas.
We have a special story for you from a claimant, which we
are sure you will find very moving, but we would also love to
hear your stories about what your work means to you, what
The thought of a long hospital stay triggered many anxieties. Family, home,
work, income all passed through my mind. With an indeterminate recovery
time ahead I had to quantify what I knew for sure. Work had my day to day
tasks covered, the house didn’t need any maintenance, lawns and gardening
were outsourced and bills were paid automatically. My wife, though very
stressed, was going about her daily chores and appointments as normal and
was making time to see me at least once a day. But how could I financially
maintain this status quo while I was off work?
Partners Life confirmed that I would receive an income protection payment
each month. I showed the letter to my wife and I said, please celebrate today
because one of our biggest worries has been put to rest. Over the next 2
months I contracted pneumonia, had another thrombosis in my right arm,
internal bleeding and I was morphine dependent. I was being tube fed and
had lost so much weight I couldn’t sit on a chair comfortably anymore. I wept
constantly because I couldn’t seem to get well enough to go back to my
Partners Life’s Simon Fisher
has committed this year to run
several of the legs of the Partners
Life High Five-O Challenge to
support Mal Law in his endeavour
to raise $250,000 for the Mental
Health Foundation.
Training & more
training…
I am truly grateful
One Friday night in May I was admitted to the emergency department of
North Shore Hospital with severe stomach cramps, nausea and a fever. At
the time I thought this was a bad stomach flu, at worst maybe appendicitis.
After a weekend of multiple tests and significant pain, the results showed
that I had both Polycythemia Vera and Essential Thrombocytosis. The Essential
Thrombocytosis was causing my body to produce too many platelet cells
which was causing my blood to clot which in turn had caused my hyper portal
vein to clot and thus my digestive system had shutdown. I was in a for a long
hospital stay.
Running to help
raise money for
Mental Health
“...is coming along very well. The early
starts in Riverhead are really paying off
normal life. I kept on having to remind myself of my blessings. I didn’t have to
worry about money. I could lie back and just let the doctors, medicine and my
body do their work. Patience.
and it is great to be getting back to my
fitness levels of 2010 after a couple of
rubbish years with my health. I am feeling
After surgery to correct a bowel blockage I reached a turning point in my
recovery. Five weeks after the surgery and three months since I was first
admitted, I was finally discharged. I was mentally traumatized, emaciated to
the point where I didn’t want to look at myself in the mirror and was still not
able to eat properly. Not being able to work was gnawing at me. I missed
my colleagues and my day to day routine. The doctors told me I would need
at least a month at home to recover. Again I took stock of what I could be
thankful for. I could spend some time with my wife, get used to eating normal
food again and do some small jobs in the garden and I didn’t have to worry
about rushing back to work to earn a salary.
better with each run and this has had a
This is going to sound strange but looking back I am the lucky one. I only had
to worry about my recovery. Income protection allowed me to take time to
recover properly, my bills were paid, my home maintained and my wife didn’t
have to worry about money. So when I returned home it was as if I had just
popped out to the dairy to get some milk. Everything was as I remembered it.
Health Foundation of New Zealand. All
I am now happily back to full-time work with a new appreciation of how great
my everyday life really is, plus a firsthand understanding of how important
income protection insurance is. I am truly grateful.
Shawn Marshall
real positive effect on my overall health!”
The subject of Mental Health is a big drive
for Simon, as his uncle has battled with this
illness throughout his life, but with a good
support system his uncle has been able to
live a relatively normal life. Giving others
the same support is the aim of the Mental
donations that they receive will contribute
to getting the people the help they require.
As of today Simon has raised a staggering
$10,886.69 which puts him at number
2 on High Five-O runner’s leader board
for sponsorship. The team at
Partners Life is very proud of
our Simon and we support
every step he takes
One of
5 Gift
Hampers
See inside for more details