Matt Stanley with daughter Indie, 7, at their home in Paraparaumu.
Matt Stanley with daughter Indie, 7, at their home in Paraparaumu.
Matt Stanley has been in pain for five years, suffering from numerous medical issues – but now that’s about to change.
Matt, from Paraparaumu, has been suffering from several conditions since 2019, such as an infected gallbladder, anaemia (a condition in which the number of red blood cells or the haemoglobin concentration within them is lower than normal), a large hiatus hernia (when the upper part of your stomach bulges through your diaphragm into your chest cavity), and more - but a phone call he received this morning means he won’t have to suffer much longer.
“I still don’t even believe it now. I was overwhelmed with joy.”
He was driving his daughter, Indie, to school for her first day back after the holidays when he got the call from Wellington Hospital telling him his surgery would be on February 15, which was on speakerphone in the car. Indie burst into tears of joy when she heard the news.
He didn’t think much of it at first, assuming it was just indigestion – but it turned out to be something much more serious.
It was only when he started feeling like he had something stuck in his throat every time he ate that he decided to go to his doctor, and after various tests, he was diagnosed with gallstones - and his doctor was sure it was an infected gallbladder.
Matt Stanley is scheduled for life-changing surgery this month.
After that, Matt, who is 40, got to a point where he started constantly feeling tired, regardless of how active he’d been, and he was diagnosed with anaemia, and started iron transfusions.
But it was after a trip to a surgeon that he was diagnosed with a large hiatus hernia and was no longer allowed to take any anti-inflammatory medicines, such as ibuprofen, despite the pain he was in.
He also had some issues with his oesophagus, such as needing his stomach pushed out of it.
Matt was told he needed surgery to remove both the hernia and his gallbladder, and to tidy up his oesophagus – but despite needing two separate surgeons to operate, he was told it would have to all be done in the same operation.
Due to the hospital only having one surgeon who could do part of the surgery, and that surgeon having a very long waiting list, he was told it could take at least two years.
Just before Christmas he started feeling a bit off and was feeling anxious – and his health issues became significantly worse.
It turned out he had had a heart attack, but his heart was in perfect shape, and it was only due to his anaemia that he had a lack of oxygen getting to his heart.
“I could breathe fine, I just felt so unusual. I got a stellar report on my heart, they said it works very well ... it’s just not getting fuelled with what it needed to be fuelled with.”
The medical issues he has been dealing with have affected Matt’s life in many ways, but most notably was the loss of his job.
He was working as a gardener when his symptoms started, and he was needing to take a lot of time off work, and while his boss was “pretty caring”, Matt was eventually told they couldn’t keep him on, after six years of working there.
Ness was forced to start working fulltime to help support their family, whereas before both she and Matt were previously working part-time so they could both spend as much time with Indie as possible.
He said Ness and Indie were his biggest motivators to continue fighting.
Matt said he’s had a lot of community support too, with neighbours sometimes bringing bags of fruit for the family, and Indie’s school giving them a free week of childcare over the holidays.
As one positive to come from the whole ordeal, Matt said he has gained a lot of medical knowledge over the past few years.
