A Glimpse of my Sister Jan’s Dash
In 1981, Jan and her husband Dennis were advised by doctors to leave Hamilton as the damp Waikato climate was detrimental to her health. When on holiday at the beach, Jan’s health seemed to improve. Dennis wanted to move to Raglan on the Waikato Coast, but Jan preferred Te Puke to be with her sister. However, the doctors told her the chemicals in the air from the kiwifruit industry would also be detrimental to her health, and advised them to go to Pāpāmoa for the sea air.
Her eyesight and kidneys were failing. Not long after they moved to Pāpāmoa, her kidneys completely failed. Jan described her state of health at the time: “I experienced complete renal failure. I had chronic fluid retention and pericarditis. My liver was swollen and not functioning. My skin was yellow and I had emphysema. I was confined to a wheelchair and could barely do anything for myself. I felt like nothing on earth.
“After three days in Tauranga hospital I was transferred to Waikato Hospital where I was told I had a month to live and would suffer a painful death unless I had a CAPD operation (Continual Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis). I underwent the operation the next day and was amazed when I awoke that I could breathe freely without an oxygen mask.”
When we visited Jan in Tauranga Hospital we could hear the fluid in her heart and lungs as she breathed. She was so blown up with fluid that it was hard to recognise her. Following the operation, Jan was set up with equipment at home to do the fluid exchange herself. During this time she had several painful bouts of peritonitis, for which Dennis was blamed by doctors and nurses. He was offended by this, for he had been carefully taught at the hospital how to change Jan's CAPD bags and inject her. Dennis might have a great sense of humour, but he took his responsibilities seriously. Following another operation, they found the cause - and it wasn’t Dennis.
For some time we tried to convince Jan to have a kidney transplant. She refused Mum’s offer of a kidney many times, until Mum got insistent after visiting Jan and seeing her in phenomenal pain with peritonitis. When Mum rang Jan’s doctor, the doctor implied she was exaggerating, until she came and saw Jan doubled up with pain. Jan admitted that she had been reluctant to accept Mum’s offer because a friend had undergone a kidney transplant from her mother. It only lasted six months and she passed away. Jan’s fear was understandable.
When I offered my kidney, Jan’s reply, laughing, was, “Thanks, sis, but your kidney would be too pickled from your good time living.” Eventually she gave into Mum. The transplant took place in November 1984. Jan was in hospital for only three weeks, not the three months she expected. Mum has never had any problems living with one kidney. The family call her ‘Sport Nana’ because she leads such an active life, playing bowls and golf. For her 80th birthday Mum, her 85-year old friend Ron and I did a tandem skydive.
During the transplant operation a clot formed under the kidney. When Jan returned to have a tube removed (left inside in case of kidney rejection) the clot travelled to the artery in the right leg and blocked the blood flow. Unfortunately, when doctors removed the clot, some of it broke off and blocked the artery behind the knee. It could not be reached and on 22nd December Jan went home with a toe that turning black. A great Christmas present!
She fought to keep her toe, but gangrene set in, and on 2 February she had her leg amputated below the knee. She was in hospital for approximately one month. During a long holiday weekend Jan wanted to get out of hospital for a break. As she was leaving the hospital she grazed her foot on a door. By the time she got back to hospital two days later gangrene had set in and she had an amputation of her second leg below the knee on 9 March, only five weeks after the first amputation.
Learning to use artificial legs was another real challenge, which Jan faced with both frustration and laughter. She could only wear them for a while before she started to get blisters on her stumps. This led to more gangrene, and the further amputation of her left leg above the knee.
Life for Jan and her family was now beset with pressure. Despite her disabilities, Jan’s children did not miss out on love or the normal activities kids enjoy. She would trundle down the road in her wheelchair to take them to the sports ground for athletics. Dennis took them to kung fu, Scouts, Brownies, and gymnastics. The whole family was involved in the Go Kart Club days in Te Puke.
Her daughter Bronwen remembers Jan giving a talk at the Pāpāmoa School about living with disabilities. She said, "I was totally embarrassed, especially by some of the questions the children asked. Everywhere we went there were curious eyes. Mostly the children wanted to know where her legs were. Mum would smile and tell a joke about a shark attack, before explaining how ill she had been.”
Jan often used humour to release the tension, to help her and others through each crisis. There were trials, tribulations and the occasional tears as the family met Jan’s everyday challenges. To everyone outside the immediate family, Jan was always so positive and bubbly. She was an inspiration to many from all walks of life.
When people are seriously unwell, it is those closest to them who bear the brunt of any upset. As Dennis says, “Jan would bounce back as if nothing had happened. We were the ones who went grey.”
When Jan passed away in 2000 she only had a couple of grey hairs in her head!
