Now here's Close Up. Tonight on Close Up ` The new machines letting doctors take better care of our children's head injuries. What we haven't had up until now is monitors that tell us about how well the brain's working. the mice making a meal out of our native birds, and Gareth Morgan's million-dollar plan to stop them. And take a stylish step back in time with a retro caravan. Just the curves. Just the prettiness. Due to the live nature of Close Up, captions for some items may be incomplete. ONE News captions by Hugo Snell and Angela Alice. Close Up captions by June Yeow and Pippa Jefferies. If you go to your doctor with a problem with your heart or your lungs, it's relatively easy to work out. But the brain ` whole different story. And if it's your child with a brain injury, not being able to know is soul destroying. Then imagine if that lack of information meant you were told to prepare for the worst; to prepare for a funeral. Tonight, Gill Higgins talks to a couple who faced that heartbreak, but miraculously, their child lived. Now, only months later, new technology at Starship Hospital could spare other parents the agony this family went through. POIGNANT MUSIC She said, 'I'm sorry. The machine has to be turned off.' POIGNANT MUSIC CONTINUES It's like we're forcing life into her. You know, we saw that she was struggling. RESPIRATOR WHIRRS They were gently told it was unlikely she'd live, and if she did, it was unclear how damaged she'd be. All of the information we get off a normal ICU monitor tells us all about how the heart and lungs are working, but what we haven't had up until now is monitors that tell us about how well the brain is working. This is Mereoni just weeks before the aneurysm struck, always full of life, even up to mischief the night she fell ill. Little did we know she went to freezer and helped herself to ice cream and took it to the bedroom. Did she say we're allowed to have ice cream? Yeah. Are you sure? Mum and Dad had been entertaining friends. The kids had gone to bed. They were all together in one bedroom ` in the brother's bedroom. That was a godsend. It was Mereoni's brother Jo who spotted something was wrong. Hey, she vomited, Susanna. Turn on the lights. Mereoni was in and out of consciousness. She was moaning about her ear and then... (SCREAMS) A loud scream, and that was that. She was out? > She was out. SIREN WAILS She was taken to Middlemore for a scan. Her parents say they were warned it would be one of two devastating outcomes. First, if she pulled through from this, she's going to be severe brain damage and maybe in a wheelchair for her whole life. Second, she's not going make it at all. MONITOR BEEPS It was an aneurysm. SCANNER CLICKS Mereoni was transferred to Starship ` straight into surgery to drain fluid from her brain. Now it's just matter of waiting and they give us a certain time - 36 hours. If she's going to make it. She made 36 hours. In fact, she made 10 days, but then the doctor gave them the news they'd been dreading. (SIGHS) POIGNANT MUSIC At first, they kept on apologising for keeping Mereoni that far. I knew it would be selfish just to keep the machine on to prolong her life when she can't go any further. We talked about the funeral process, the burial and everything. POIGNANT MUSIC CONTINUES I choose one of her beautiful dresses to prepare for the day that we're going to turn off the machine. And I just broke down when I come home because the realisation starts to hit you. They took the kids to see Mereoni in case it was goodbye. So I sat next to her, and I sang... (SINGS) 'you're the best of both worlds,' and, yeah, I think I forgot the rest of the lyrics. So why did you want to sing it to her? I thought it might get her memory started. More waiting, more uncertainty. TENSE MUSIC They prepared themselves for the worst, but the next bit of news was the best. 4 o'clock that morning or a bit earlier, they did notice that she was breathing by herself. LILTING MUSIC Oh, I never cried, I never showed my emotion to anyone at all until that time. It's a different feeling. She went from strength to strength. And her first words? 'Hello, Dad.' 'Hello, Dad,' and then she started crying. Somehow there was some brain activity nearby. Thank goodness they didn't turn it off sooner. Now they've got new brain monitor. That is a dream. It's marvellous. Now what we've got is a machine that is the best of both worlds, so we've got a proper EEG machine, so a neurologist can look for all the subtle things. But we have other screens where we can have a look at a simple version of the information. It can give you an idea of what's going on. That machine is for the future Mereoni. It's several months on now, and Mereoni is home. Keep walking straight. She's start walking. You've got a strong voice. Yeah. You did better than your brother. Yeah. She's into conversation. But the best thing for you is that you've still got her? Oh, that's the best thing. The best thing in the world. You're good, eh? LAUGHTER And Starship would like to give special thanks to Barfoot & Thompson, who raised hundreds of thousands of dollars through quiz nights to buy all three new brain monitors. Imagine what those parents went through. What do you think? Go to our website or email us at closeup@tvnz.co.nz, and we're on Facebook too ` facebook.com/closeup. Now you'll remember the case of Yik-kun Heng. He was the graduate who beleved racism was stopping him getting a job. The Malaysian-born Kiwi has applied for 175 jobs after graduating from the University of Auckland with a political science degree in 2007. My bachelor's, my honours and my master's, first class. But he's had just three interviews. Do you think employers are seeing your name and simply pushing you to the side? I would say so. I mean, I'd be interested to see anyone else who's had an experience of clocking over a hundred job applications. We've got an update. After our piece went to air, many people contacted us wanting to give Yik a chance. He has a job interview with ANZ National Bank and a recruitment consultant. We'll keep you updated. Coming up ` the mice making a meal out of our native birds, and Gareth Morgan's million-dollar plan to stop them. And Michael Holland takes to the road in a retro caravan. People are becoming really aware of them. Gareth Morgan is a man on a mission, a mission to throw money at a million-dollar mouse ` well, mice, technically ` after a trip to NZ's Antipodes Islands, 800km south of Bluff. He wants to save the rare wildlife he saw there from a predator, mice. It's a million-dollar job, and he's offering to stump up a fair share of it as long as the public gets on board. Why is he so passionate? What you see next will explain a lot. Here's Mark Crysell. Watch this extraordinary footage very closely. This young albatross chick is about to be attacked by hungry carnivorous mice. First they peck at its eye. Then very quickly they swarm in and eat it alive. 800km south of Stewart Island, on the Antipodes Islands, these tiny rodents are wreaking havoc with our endangered species. The Antipodean wandering albatross breeds here, light mantled sooty albatrosses. There are about 20 different species of seabirds. There's parakeets. It is really a wonderful place. It is a refuge for wildlife, except for these mice, which are the last remaining pest. It may look like an isolated freezing windswept rock, but these sub-Antarctic islands are a vitally important nature reserve and a world heritage site. Half the world's erect-crested penguins live here. The mice are left over from its days as a sealing colony, and visiting ships. Mice do incredible damage to our biodiversity; to the species. So they're taking insect life, they're taking seeds, they're taking small eggs and chicks. And, um, the last remaining pest, and there's something we can do about it. The Department of Conservation reckons doing something about it will cost around a million dollars. They took philanthropist Gareth Morgan to the Antipodes to see for himself just how fragile this ecosystem is. Morgan is now spearheading a fundraising campaign to completely rid the island of mice. Hi, boys. It's an ambitious project, but in one job we could clean up this island and have it good for the foreseeable future. Campbell and Enderby Islands are now pest-free, thanks to DOC's eradication projects. They reckon a four-day aerial poisoning campaign will do the same here and allow the island's original inhabitants once again live in peace. It's easy to say that it's that simple, but there's a lot of logistics, and there's getting bait in every mouse's home range and using some pretty skilled helicopter pilots. There's a lot of planning goes into it, but I'm absolutely confident we've got the skills and technique to do it. Gareth Morgan joins me now, along with the director general of the Department of Conservation, Al Morrison. uninhabited islands 800k's out of bluff ` is worth it? absolutely. There are albatross there. the mice are decimating the population. how much are you willing to pay? the Department of conservation reckons it costs about 1 million bucks. I think we can raise the money and doccan get on with it. I think it's an easy win. isn't this your job? it is, but we can get help it would be good. We've got a responsibility to the world to do it. could you do this without Gareth? New Zealand needs to be saved. DOC are chucking in $300,000. we still need to raise $700,000. Funding is a scarce resource. The numbers of species is plunging. unbelievable. we can do something about this, so let's do it. all sorts of people have gone down to learn what the issues are. Al, it can be done? yes. DOC as a world leader in pest free eradication. how can you get rid of them? you drop the poison. You've got to get up and all the nooks and crannies. it'll happen, Mark. I'm very confident. it's important for the public to take part. We need to do something about this. Caravans ` if you're caught behind one on a long, narrow road, they become an object of hate, but there are some people who have a love affair with them. But not just any old caravan ` retro caravans from an era when we used to make them right here, with names like the Zephyr and the Starliner, and they dotted our beaches every summer. Well, summer didn't quite work out this year, but the caravans are back and on display at this weekend's Whangamata Beach Hop. Michael Holland went a little retro. JAUNTY VIOLIN MUSIC It's sitting on top of the hill winking at me, saying, 'Come and get me.' These wonderful old girls are around. JAUNTY MUSIC QUICKENS Literally thousands still out there, condition ` hmm, variable. It just means happy days to me, and that just sums it up nicely. People are becoming really aware of them. BLUES GUITAR MUSIC In this, the emerging world of retro caravans, there's another C word tripping off tongues. Cute. Cute. Oh, it's cute. Yep. Cute... That cute caravan that's parked down the Pink Flamingo Boulevard. ...is clearly cool. The bubble` The bubble caravan. Just the curves. Just the prettiness. And just the ticket, especially if it's one of ours. Made in NZ by NZers. It's part of NZ's history, and they have to be saved. Whenever I see an old caravan derelict, and it's all battered in, I always think just imagine all the amazing stories that caravan can tell. It always will be fun. Everything is always fun when you're going on camping holidays, isn't it? This is a 1966 Zephyr caravan. So Zephyr were the largest caravan manufacturers in the South Island. It's really good memories of family holidays. This is a Kiwiana bach on wheels? Absolutely. And you love her? I absolutely love her. Just the decor. It gives you the warm fuzzies about when I was a kid and what I enjoyed. BLUES GUITAR MUSIC Classic vans were fast becoming the fashionable accessory for other classics. A '50s, '60s car towing a '50, '60s caravan ` you know, that just makes up the deal. A small van ` you could tow it with a Mini, but I see that's not your way. No, you can't really go past a good old American V8. Style and horsepower. What can you say? It was a bit of a wreck, and decided to hot-rod it and got slightly carried away. That's the end result. 300 to 400 hours went into it. JIMI HENDRIX'S 'PURPLE HAZE' 1962 Starliner Standard made in Christchurch. The top is fibreglass, front and rear are fibreglass, and the sides are made out of steel. Sex on wheels. Sex on wheels? Mm, pretty much. # Oh, oh, Ruby, Ruby. # Do you remember any of this? Are you old enough to remember any of this Kiwiana? I'd like to say no... BOTH LAUGH ...but the answer is absolutely. Look at it. A lot of this stuff is from out of my childhood ` when my mum and dad had a caravan. All of those are places we've been in this caravan. We need a bit more space, really. Down here there's my old knuckle bones. The cards that we used to play with. Knuckle bones? Yes, the original. If it was a rainy day, we could play. Yes, we could, but it's too nice outside, so we have to get our bucket and spade and go down on the beach. It all starts with something like this? Yeah, just an old derelict caravan that you find in someone's back yard. What do you reckon? I love it. You can definitely do something with it. It's got a lot of character. And... Hey, it's old, so it's cool straight away. It's almost romantic. Totally. Totally. For us, this is more romantic because we did get married in it, and we had our honeymoon in it as well. And this is part of the matrimonial bed, is that right? Yes, yes. It folds down into our bed, so, yeah, absolutely. (LAUGHS) It's definitely got good bones to build something out of it. You would keep the light shades? Oh, definitely. You don't change things like that. How many hours? How many bucks? Ooh, a lot of hours,... (LAUGHS) and you wouldn't want to tell the wife how much. Is it a he or a she? She. (LAUGHS) Come on, now. CLOCK TICKS LOUDLY You couldn't dream about the past with that old clock keeping you awake at night. Listen to it. I know. It's like Big Ben, isn't it? I don't remember it keeping me awake when I was a child, so obviously we were having so much fun, we were too tired to lay awake and listen to it. (LAUGHS) We've tried to keep all the details authentic to the period, even the calendar ` 1966. The calendar's 1966? Yes. BLUES GUITAR MUSIC I reckon it's worth a million dollars to me, but I would never sell it, because you'd never grab that past again. It would be gone. BLUES GUITAR MUSIC Time for your feedback now, and on the story of the little girl with the brain injury, Louise says... Ceridwen says... And if you want to donate to the cause of pest eradication that Gareth Morgan was telling us about, And if you want to donate to the cause of pest eradication that Gareth Morgan was telling us about, go to www.milliondollarmouse.org.nz, and the details will be on our website too. And that's NZ Close Up. Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air.