By Tate Papworth
Michelle Newland knows a thing or two about overcoming adversity – now she’s giving a helping hand to those who need it most.
Michelle was well on her way to achieving her dream of becoming a primary school teacher, completing the first year of her degree with results placing her in the top 10 per cent of her class.
However, just three days after her 19th birthday, she suffered a near fatal asthma attack, resulting in a severe brain injury.
Her brain was deprived of oxygen for 10 minutes and doctors told her family she’d remain in a vegetative state.
They underestimated Michelle, who for 14 years has continued her rehabilitation journey, learning to eat, swallow, read and talk again.
Today she runs her own business making greeting and special occasion cards and gives motivational talks in schools and workplaces.
She’s now turning her attention to bottle tops.
“We were driving home one day and we heard how Envision Hands are turning bottle tops into prosthetic limbs for people in Third World countries,” Michelle said.
“I thought it was something we could do, so I researched online, made contact with Envision and started collecting.
“I’ve had heaps of fun collecting these. It’s crazy to think they can turn these bottle tops into an arm or a leg,” she said.
“We’ve got a lot of people out collecting through my networks. There’s a lot of people who are supporting me.
“There’s a couple of thousand tops already. We’re hoping to get more though.”
With more than 1000 bottle tops already stored away, Michelle hopes to collect enough to make a big impact.
To join the collection drive call: 9366 9067
