Login Required

This content is restricted to University of Auckland staff and students. Log in with your username to view.

Log in

More about logging in

Sunday is a weekly in-depth current affairs show bringing viewers award-winning investigations into the stories that matter, from a team of the country's most experienced journalists.

  • 1Little Battler Fate delivered the Turner family a cruel blow when they found out that their new baby would have spina bifida, but with the love, faith and support of an adoring family a little girl called Eva was given a shot at life - when most others are terminated.

    • Start 00 : 00 : 40
    • Finish 00 : 18 : 51
    • Duration 18 : 11
    Reporters
    • John Hudson (Reporter, Television New Zealand)
    Live Broadcast
    • No
    Commercials
    • Yes
  • 2Extreme Sharks Mary-Lee and Catherine are cranky man-eaters - five metres long, weighing a tonne and with jaws big enough to chomp a person in half. They are white pointer sharks, but who are the fearless men who cosy up to Catherine and Mary-Lee and wrestle with them in the name of science?

    • Start 00 : 23 : 13
    • Finish 00 : 30 : 49
    • Duration 07 : 36
    Reporters
    • Alex Cullen (Reporter, Seven News)
    Live Broadcast
    • No
    Commercials
    • No
Primary Title
  • Sunday
Date Broadcast
  • Sunday 20 October 2013
Start Time
  • 19 : 30
Finish Time
  • 20 : 00
Duration
  • 30:00
Channel
  • TV One
Broadcaster
  • Television New Zealand
Programme Description
  • Sunday is a weekly in-depth current affairs show bringing viewers award-winning investigations into the stories that matter, from a team of the country's most experienced journalists.
Classification
  • Not Classified
Owning Collection
  • Chapman Archive
Broadcast Platform
  • Television
Languages
  • English
Captioning Languages
  • English
Captions
Live Broadcast
  • No
Rights Statement
  • Made for the University of Auckland's educational use as permitted by the Screenrights Licensing Agreement.
Genres
  • Current affairs
  • Newsmagazine
Hosts
  • Miriama Kamo (Presenter)
Tonight on Sunday ` what would you do? Is it a girl or boy? Baby on the way,... Oh, it's a girl. Oh!! ...so much to think about. so much to do, until... She said, 'I think your child has spina bifida.' What to do now? Most people would terminate. The great quandry. Do we just write everyone off because there's an issue? Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Messing with the man-eaters... Fill that sucker right up. Get more. ...to make our beaches safer. I wanna spy on them. CLAMOURING Kia ora. I'm Miriama Kamo. The Turner family of Christchurch is one of the most irrepressible, upbeat and positive families you'll ever meet ` Claudia, Jon and their three kids. So when they were confronted by one of life's curve balls, one of those hideous life and death situations, the decision for them was easy. It involved their newborn Eva ` Eva, meaning life. The courageous Turners invited us on their remarkable journey with Eva as she fights to live up to her name. Whatever comes our way as a family, we will be able work through it and do it together as a team, even with the three kids, you know. So, storms may come but they're not going to blow us over, not at all. But the Turners had no idea what storms lay ahead. When Nikita found out that we were having a girl, oh my goodness, she was just thrilled, weren't you, Nikita? After two brothers,... she was so excited. (LAUGHS) Yeah. That's all you wanted to know ` is it a girl or a boy? Claudia is having another baby. We thought it was going to be a boy and me and Luca looked at each other, and the lady was, like, 'Oh, it's a girl.' (LAUGHS) Claudia and Jon turner already have three children. My oldest is Nikita. She's 14. And then Luca ` 13. And Yanik. He's 10. And after 10 years, yeah, our new little addition Eva has come into our family, so, yeah. Just to see her is just beautiful. But at Eva's 20-week scan, the Turners discovered their baby has major problems. She said there is a sack on the back of the baby's spine and I'm not sure, but I think your child has spina bifida. Honestly I didn't even know what spina bifida was. MAN: This is the defect here. Skin behind here and the defect through here. Spina bifida can be so debilitating that most couples choose early abortion. I did pose the question. I said, you know, um, 'Is this common that people would go through with the pregnancy?' And they said, 'Not` Not really that common.' They said most people would terminate at this stage. They said most people would terminate at this stage. Yeah. Yeah. Was there ever any doubt that you would have Eva? Was there ever any doubt that you would have Eva? No. Not a doubt, no. We knew that it didn't matter what the baby was. We were going to go ahead anyway. In anyone's life there can be any number of things that happen. It could be that you have a car accident and from that point on you're in a wheelchair. Or it could be that you have some health problem. So do we just write everyone off because there's an issue, or do we give everyone a chance at life? And I think everyone's got a chance at life. Oh, look at that. Oh, I cannot believe that. Now at 7 months, they're learning more about Eva's deformities. The club feet, yeah. It's quite a severe deformity, really. Dr Maggie Meeks is one of the specialists caring for Eva. If you look at Eva's legs, they're quite wasted and she has problems with the movement and probably also with the sensation in those legs. And the other difficulty with spina bifida is the fluid within the brain causing hydrocephalus which is what Eva also has. MAN: Look at that, guys. MAN: Look at that, guys. LAUGHTER Fluid trapped in Eva's head is putting pressure in her brain. That could led to a mental disability or even kill Eva. I think it's inevitable in these diagnoses that there is some brain damage. The extent of that is quite difficult to predict. Thank you for the yummy food and the people who made it, and let us pray that tomorrow will be as good a day as today. Amen. For the Turners, Eva is a blessing from God. We are entrusted with these children, and it's our job to help that child become what it's been created to become. And if it means it's only here with us for` for two days, it's still` still a blessing. CHILDREN GIGGLE Was it hard for you at the very very beginning? When we first found out, I was in shock. The Turners are keen to find out more about spina bifida and the challenges they could be facing. I didn't know the severity of spina bifida, cos I hadn't even heard of it. No, that's the thing ` I'd never heard of it either. So they're meeting some of the 1500 NZers born with the condition. Ya! I had titanium rods put in and I was stuck in a hospital bed in the middle of the living room for three and a half months afterwards, so I was, like,... (GROANS) They have a variety of disabilities. Some are much worse than young Daniel. Daniel's Daniel, you know, and I love him to bits just as he is. He's` To me, he's perfect. You being cutie. You wee cutie. I spoke to a couple of ladies there and they were saying they wouldn't change it. They've learnt so much, and that's the way their kids are. And as we feel normal being ourselves, they feel normal. At 24, Madeline Wenmoth is a living example of how with the right attitude adversity can become advantage. Spina bifida hasn't stopped her working full-time. We just wanted to call you and talk to you about your travel to your next locum. She finds jobs for medical staff, drives a car, plays sport and has big plans. I would like to own my own home. I'd like to travel a bit more around Europe. I would love to get married. I would like to have children some day. I've got a few big dreams in there, but most of them are quite achievable, I think. Madeleine's always done everything that everyone else has done. If she had to do it her own way, she would. I don't believe there is that many things that other people can't do, to be honest. What would your advice be to parents about to have a baby with spina bifida? Make the joys of every day outweigh the sorrows. Honestly, just be positive. It is a doable journey. It is. Yeah, that's what I said to them. I'm finding it really uncomfortable to sleep now. The Turners believe it's doable. I now know with` children who have spina bifida grow up to be amazing people in society. And they have got jobs and they're doing things that every other person would do. Sometimes when you hear that really whoosh-y sound, that's kicking. They're hoping for the best. But it's now clear Eva's condition is critical. Where the spine is open, that has to be closed off so there's no further damage or infection or anything there. She may be born and can't breathe, cos that function isn't there. and so that's the end at that point there. So, if that's the way it's meant to be, so be it. Who are we to argue? So... Who are we to argue? So... At least she's in our arms... ...for as long as we can... ...for as long as we can... ...and we're able to see her and connect with her, you know? After the break ` Eva's birthday arrives early, but can she survive? HEARTBEAT OVER ULTRASOUND September the 5th. Today Eva will be born. READS: 'Claudia Turner, EDC6940.' What is your date of birth, Claudia? The pressure inside Eva's skull is increasing,... Have you all covered up. ...so she's to be brought into the world early by caesarean section. They could see that she was in stress, and so they had to really act quickly. Just minutes later, Eva is on her way to intensive care,... She all good? She's all good. She's beautiful. She likes blowing bubbles. ...her life in the balance. She's not breathing really on her own. She's on a machine and needs help and swallowing ` she's not swallowing, so she's being fed with a wee tube as well. And did you get to hold Eva? I didn't. Not the day she was born. She came, and they showed me her, and I just fell in love with her straight away. She was beautiful. The priority is to close the gap in Eva's spine. The next day, she's back in surgery. But there are complications. One of the complications was that she had an infection following the first operation. And obviously if you have any infection around then, it's very increased risk to then put some additional material in that's leading into the brain. Eva needs a shunt, a small valve like this one to ease the pressure from fluid surrounding her brain. (CRIES) But first they must control her infection, and that takes weeks. How was that? Daddy didn't do too bad, did he? All the while, her breathing assisted by a machine. There is possibly been damage already done to her brain, and her brain's not telling her, you know, giving her the signals when to breathe, so she's needing to be on that machine. But what we're hoping and praying for is that the next operation, which is the shunt, is gonna relieve the pressure, and that's gonna help her, you know, with breathing. That's right. Mummy and Daddy are here for you, darling. We go in there and we talk to her and she just calms right down, and she holds your finger and she squeezes it tight, and that's just awesome cos, you know, in the first three weeks of her life we've already built a beautiful little relationship with her. The whole family ` we're so attached to her. You know, she's part of our family. It's just so awesome. You just keep breathing. You are doing so well, darling. So well. You know, we've been told that you know if it's damage already done then we don't know how long she` we would have with her. You know, it's day by day, really, which, yeah, is sad. Eva is now a month old,... (MURMURS PRAYER) ...and they're praying that the shunt about to be put into her head will allow her to breath and swallow unassisted. For Claudia and Jon these are anxious hours waiting, hoping the surgery will succeed. Morning, Jon. Good morning. How are you? On Monday, the Turners met again with the specialists who've been caring for Eva. It doesn't really look that great for the future. So, yeah... short of a miracle, of course. And so every day we have with her now is a blessing. We don't know how long that will be, but obviously it could only be a couple of days or weeks. Mm. The shunt has successfully relieved the pressure around Eva's brain, but her breathing has not improved. She wants to survive. You can see that. She wants to be here. She wants to be with us. These are precious moments for the Turners. They will always remember cuddling their baby sister, Eva. They have tried everything medically possible for Eva and the next option is really to take off her breathing support to see if she can breathe by herself naturally. We want to see if she can do that, and to pray for a miracle, really, that she will be able to breathe by herself and continue to breathe, and they said there still is that hope that she can. But looking at the way she is responding at the moment it does look like she is on a rapid decline. But there is always hope. You know, there is always hope that when we do finally come to that decision of saying let's try for her that... that she will surprise us all. RAPID BEEPING (SIGHS) I hope so. About one in 20 babies born with spina bifida have the severe abnormalities Eva is battling. The turners say they'll have a dedication service for Eva before taking her off breathing support later this week. And our thoughts are certainly with the family. Up next ` meet Mary-Lee and Catherine. Yeah, Mary-Lee! Big girl! I mean, if a shark comes in on the beach that happens to be one of our tagged fish, we alert the people, 'There is a big white shark on the beach, just FYI.' Hello again. Mary-Lee and Catherine ` nice by name, man eaters by nature... literally. 4m to 5m long and weighing a ton each. Jaws strong enough to chomp you in half. Tonight we meet some guys who know the girls. They're on a bold mission to make our beaches just that bit safer. Here's Alex Cullen. I look at this animal as being almost the perfect creature in the ocean. It's evolved over 400 million years. It hasn't had to change much in order to do that. and that's why I'm driven to study them. I want to spy on them, you know? I've wanted to spy on them since I was a kid. We had a shark around the smaller boat that was showing some interest in one of the baits. We've got to make sure my team is ready to go. You start getting a little bit of an anxiety buzz, you know? But you've got to drop it down a notch. When it comes to catching fully grown great white sharks alive,... Big, big, big mature female. ...this team has a very particular set of skills. How are you doing on your stitches there, Greg? How are you doing on your stitches there, Greg? One more and I'm done. Come on. Hold her tight! You gotta go, bro. You gotta go. This dramatic catch-and-release operation is incredibly effective for the scientists, and it's making beaches around the world safer. If a shark comes in on the beach that is one of our tagged fish, like happens in South Africa regularly, we alert the people. 'There is a big white shark on the beach, just FYI.' The Holy Grail is the white shark, and to be able to study the big, big white sharks is just an amazing opportunity. Dr Greg Skomal heads up the Massachusetts Shark Research Program. Now, we know white sharks historically have occurred off this coastline but now they are occurring in larger numbers very close to shore, in one of the most popular tourist attractions in all of Massachusetts ` Cape Cod ` and so our need-to-know information about how these animals live is somewhat urgent. What Dr Skomal really wants to know is how many great whites there are and when are they swimming closest to beaches, posing the greatest danger to people. To find out, he needed to catch and track big sharks. Give her a little nudge! Give her... Just get her out! Since 2007, Chris Fischer has been leading shark expeditions that give scientists the best platform they've ever had to unlock the mysteries and better protect this magnificent ocean predator. Chris and his scientific team only select fully grown sharks... That's a big one. ...and catch them using a bait and a barbless hook. He just ate it. They pull the shark towards the platform, which is lowered a metre below the surface. We're standing by, ready to go. What happens next is mind-boggling. Captain Brett McBride jumps in and dives right in front of the shark, putting him face to face with a very cranky man-eater. CLAMOURING ALEX: Once on board, the platform is raised and the shark, which is not sedated, is secured in a safe position for everyone. Salt water is pumped over its gills, keeping it alive, and the black towel draped over its eyes helps the shark remain calm. Then the science begins. What's the time past the hour? Spots on. We've got the parasites. We got the parasites unless we need more. She's great. Her colour's great. Water flow is good. Chris and his team have put satellite tags on more than 60 great white sharks around the world. Yeah, girl! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Any time she comes to the surface, it transmits a ping to a satellite which picks it up, relays it back to us, and we can actually track her movements on the shark tracker. The sharks can be followed live on computers, mobile phones and tablets by anyone, anywhere. Each colour is a different shark. Tracking devices are fitted to each shark. And the internal tag is in, right? One is surgically implanted in the belly. Having information in a more timely manner is really certainly helpful for beach managers, folks who are making decisions about opening and closing the beaches. And making those beaches safer is what first brought the team to Cape Cod a year ago to track sharks. Coming under to you, Jodie. Coming right at you, Jodie. That's when they caught Mary-Lee. Yeah, Mary-Lee! Big girl! She's 1.5 tons, 5m long and about to reveal that sharks are more fascinating than anyone ever realised. The best guess was that Mary-Lee would hang around. There was plenty of food here in Cape Cod and the water was warm, but scientists could not have been more wrong. Mary-Lee surprised them all. In two months, she swam 1500km south to the beaches of Florida. I was in my office, and I looked at the tracker and, 'Oh, my God, Mary-Lee is right on the beach in Jacksonville, Florida, by the pier, where people surf.' I'm sitting there and looking at this info, and like, 'I got to call somebody.' So I called down to the Jacksonville Beach police department and I'm like, 'Yeah, you know my name is Chris Fisher and I wanted to give you a call 'because we are tracking this 4000-pound white shark 'and she is within, like, 20m of your beach right in the surf spot, and it's four hours before dawn.' Giant great white shark... The police closed the beach, alerted the media and the story of Mary-Lee went around the world. All this high-tech tracking equipment means this new information will shed new light on the lives of great white sharks everywhere. Can I touch it? Oh, man, that is incredible. Blood samples are taken for genetic testing and to measure stress levels. Skin samples are collected. The woman with the goggles is doing an ultrasound on a shark to find out if she's pregnant. I'm leaning on a great white shark. (LAUGHS) That's mind-boggling! The shark wasn't. After exactly 15 minutes, time was up. But first, Chris names the shark. The shark is named Catherine! We'll call her Cat for short! Good luck, old girl. Brett has one last risky job ` to guide the great white off the platform. He's behind her, holding her tail, but then everyone on the boat holds their breath. The strong tide turns Catherine around. For a frightening moment, she comes frighteningly close to Brett. He keeps his cool and sets her free. CHEERING Wow, off she went. That was awesome, wasn't it? Great job. How you feeling? Relieved, you know? I want to make sure my boys got all 10 fingers and toes right now. Mary-Lee and Catherine. How did they come up with those names? All right, that is our show for tonight. Do join us on Facebook ` Sunday TVNZ.
Reporters
  • Alex Cullen (Reporter, Seven News)
  • John Hudson (Reporter, Television New Zealand)