Thank you to the team that inspired anorexia recovery

A dream came true for a young Palmerston North Netball player when she was given the opportunity to thank the Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse for inspiring her to work towards recovering from an eight-year-long battle with anorexia.

Santarna Downes, 19, applied to the ANZ Dream Delivery programme for her chance to thank the players. She was recording a thank you video message to the team when the players made a surprise visit and presented her with training gear and tickets to their remaining ANZ Premiership games for the season.

Downes said she wanted to let the players know how they had unwittingly changed her life.

“I’ve battled with anorexia for eight years. Netball is my life but I was forced to give up playing due to the risk of collapsing. I had the wrong idea that in order to be good at Netball I needed to be stick thin and not eat to stay this way.

“In 2015 I met the Pulse and they took the time to talk to me, and through our conversations it became clear to me that in order to be good at Netball I actually needed to be healthy and strong. This motivated me to recover and I’ve always wanted to say thank you to them for saving me,” says Ms Downes.

As well as new training gear (including sneakers, a FitBit and Pulse training gear) and tickets to the Pulse’s remaining games (including flights and accommodation), Santarna’s Dream Delivery included a surprise photo shoot with the team and an exclusive invite to one of their training sessions.

“My Netball dream was to tell them a simple thank you. I never expected any of this. I’m blown away. I feel even more inspired to carry on my recovery journey. I’m back playing Netball this year and the gear will help me so much, as will the regular contact with the team,” says Ms Downes

If you need help to achieve your Netball dreams tell ANZ how they can help. To apply visit www.anz.co.nz/dreambig