On the morning bus to GreenLane

Today was my second day at Aronui Ora (the service for maternal mental health). Rather than ride my bike all the way to GreenLane (I wouldn't have turned a hair at the distance when young; in fact I occasionally ran a slightly longer way when I worked there as a registrar), I park the bike at Auckland Hospital and take the shuttle bus. I scored a seat on the left of the bus and took this photo of the Auckland Domain while the bus waited for a green light.

The first patient I saw has fought her moods for more than 20 years. Initially, she used rage, and drugs and alcohol. She shut away for later the terrors of her childhood. Then three years ago, the Alcohol and Drug Court offered her Rehab rather than punishment, and her life has turned around . She has done this. But now she has to ask for help to deal with a severe post natal depression. It is humbling and somewhat scary to be the one being asked to help her conquer this current demon. Especially when she so obviously trusts me. Someone who once could never trust another person talked to me, confided in me, listened to my explanations of what we will do, and trusted enough to say yes. Scary indeed.