Warning: This article discusses suicide.
COVID-19 has hit our oldest Kiwis the hardest.
They're most at risk from the virus and our efforts to protect them have left many feeling isolated and lonely - a danger in itself.
The pandemic is the biggest global event since World War II - and those who lived through that may have been better prepared for COVID-19 than the rest of us.
Gisborne city - isolated on the North Island's East Coast. Population: 37,000.
Among the locals are Betty and Archie Gillies - my mum and dad.
They've both had COVID-19 in recent months but they reckon New Zealand's two long lockdowns were almost as hard.
"[The] toughest part was not having the kids around," Archie Gillies said. "No kids, just sitting at home… with your mother," he joked.
Dad is happy, cheeky and healthy now but at the height of lockdown, he was raced to hospital. It wasn't COVID-19 related but no one, including mum, could visit.
"It was a scary time," Betty Gillies said. "There was a COVID scare at the hospital and we didn't know what was happening. It was the unknown that was very hard."
Up in Auckland, 77-year-old Wayne Ready spent lockdown on his own - lonely and isolated.
He hated it and tried to end his life.
"The loneliness was shocking," Ready said. "You can get quite sad. To be honest there were times when I thought my life was over."
Ready consoled himself with alcohol - lots of it.
"It's the sadness first that takes me to the drink," he said.
Studies have shown older people suffering from loneliness and isolation are more at risk of developing dementia, having a fall or not getting the medication they require.
"Loneliness and isolation can lead to a reduction of average lifespan by anything up to 15 percent," said Age Concern Auckland chief executive Kevin Lamb. "You're seeing a real severe increase in mental health issues, in physical and emotional health.
"You can see dementia coming on more quickly because people are not having that stimulation."
Ready had a saviour. Age Concern stepped in, offering support and friendship and he just gave up the booze.
"I'm probably 75 percent the real Wayne at the moment, which is a heck of a lot further up from where I was," Ready said.
COVID-19 has been brutal to our older generation. Eighty percent of people dying with the virus here are aged over 70 and our oldest residents are dying at higher than expected rates.
Winnie Flavell-Mott is 94 years old and still going strong in her lifestyle village.
Born before World War II, the now great, great-grandmother has already seen and survived so much. Her generation, she said, is resilient.
"As for the war, we survived that - it was hard. Our sugar was rationed, our butter was rationed - we didn't have much butter and I promised myself then that when I grow up and do my shopping I'm going to eat butter… and I still do," she joked.
And that resilience, built all those years ago, has proved vital for our oldest Kiwis.
"We saw this during [the] lockdown," Lamb said.
"Older people are very, very adaptable."
But, sadly, Lamb was dealing with another term during lockdown too - elder abuse.
"Physical, sexual abuse - they do happen and we've seen physical abuse increase during lockdown but often it is psychological abuse," said Lamb. "It is simply taking advantage of someone, it is bullying, it is demeaning… or it could be financial."
Lockdown has also driven our older generation to get tech-savvy.
Even Betty Gillies - once a shameless tech-phobic - now shops, pays bills and communicates online with confidence.
While an online life is handy, nothing beats a real-life cuddle with a young loved one. And as the world opens up, our elders are welcoming that with open arms.
Watch Newshub Investigates: Generation COVID in full on ThreeNow.
