Tēnā koutou katoa.
Ko Rosalie Amner tōku ingoa.
No Tokoroa ahau. Kei Hutt Valley tōku kāinga ināianei.
My husband and two sons whakapapa to Ngāti Rangi. Their marae is Kuratahi.
Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi.
With my basket and your basket, the people will thrive.
Rosalie is based in Wellington and joined us at the end of October where she’ll work closely with Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists in the lower North Island and upper South Island. She can advise on our full range of products including showering and toileting hygiene equipment, beds and mattresses, overhead lifting and mobile hoists, chairs, manual handling and transfer aids.
Rosalie grew up in Tokoroa and initially worked as a Therapy Assistant at a British school for children with physical disabilities during her gap year. “That was my first experience of working in the disability field. My mum always said, ‘Oh, Rosalie, you’d make a great nurse’ but I was determined not to do that. But I suppose I just love being with people and I’ve always connected well with others.”
After returning home to New Zealand and trying her hand at studying psychology, Rosalie decided to become an Occupational Therapist instead. “Because I had that previous experience of working in the English school, pediatrics became my passion. Once I graduated in 2004 there was a pediatric position available at a child development service in Porirua which I happily took.”
Several years and two children of her own later, Rosalie moved to Hutt Hospital to work for their child development service. She helped to fit equipment and wheelchairs for children aged 2-16 years, and also assessed their home environment.
“We did a lot of property modifications, predominantly for children with challenging behaviours such as autism or intellectual disabilities. One of the main things was providing a safe area of play for a child so they could be unsupervised for a short period of time. It was important to have the right fences, gates, locks and even safety glass in place.”
The role had Rosalie walking a finely balanced tightrope as she had to work within parameters of restraint minimisation, Ministry of Health funding and the wider family’s needs. “It was heavy but so rewarding at the same time. It was a real privilege to be even in the family’s homes because it can be a pretty private experience for people. I got to work with some really amazing families.”
After a decade working for Hutt Hospital, Rosalie was keen for a new challenge and work environment, so jumped at the chance to work for Cubro when a position in Wellington became available.
“Doing that grassroots work is what I’m really looking forward to,” she says. “As an OT myself over the past 18 years, I love to help people best manage their everyday tasks.”
Starting a new job (which has involved a bit of travel around the North Island initially), has temporarily disrupted Rosalie’s other plans – to compete in the Taupo half ironman this December!
“Right now my training has just completely gone off the radar. But I try to do at least an hour of training a day during the week, and then in the weekends unfortunately, my family don’t see a lot of me!”
The 40 year-old has completed quarter ironmans and several triathlons in the past, and likes to set herself new goals and challenges. If swimming almost 2km, biking 90km and running 21km isn’t enough, Rosalie has put herself under extra pressure to raise money for charity while she’s at it.
“We’ve got a blood condition within our family so I’m fundraising for the Leukemia and Blood Cancer Foundation. I’m aiming to raise $2000 and I’m currently at $1360 or something like that.
One of my friends convinced me that we could do this ironman event together. However, he’s six foot four and really, really fit. I don’t know why I signed up but that’s alright. We’ve just got to get it done!”
If anyone would like to support Rosalie’s iron-clad determination, you can make a donation on her fundraising page.