Scott Laurenson and wife Belle, pictured here with daughter Olivia, had to put their business into voluntary liquidation after his eight-week hospital stay. A customer has set up a Givealittle page to help the couple out.
Scott Laurenson and wife Belle, pictured here with daughter Olivia, had to put their business into voluntary liquidation after his eight-week hospital stay. A customer has set up a Givealittle page to help the couple out.
Kaitāia’s Scott Laurenson spent 16 years building up his IT business, culminating with the opening of Laurenson Technology in the town two years ago.
But he and wife Belle have had to put the business into voluntary liquidation after he spent eight weeks in hospital, almost dying when flu, Covid-19 and RSV devastated his already-fragile body.
Now a loyal customer has set up a Givealittle page to help the couple move on. And the couple vow to use any money raised to first pay off customers who had made orders and creditors.
Scott Laurenson has SEPN1-related myopathy, a subtype of congenital muscular dystrophy - he’s one of less than 200 people in the world with the condition - and often needs to use a mobility scooter to get around. He also has scoliosis - an abnormal lateral curvature of the spine.
Despite this, he started working fixing computers 16 years ago, and in 2021 opened Laurenson Technology in Commerce St with Belle, who is skilled at repairing mobile phones.
Kaitāia businessman Scott Laurenson had to put his business Laurenson Technology into voluntary liquidation after spending eight weeks in hospital after almost dying when flu, Covid 19 and RSV devastated his already fragile immune system.
The couple said the business was doing well, and they had doubled turnover in the past year, but their plans for the future came crashing to a halt in August when his health started to deteriorate and he struggled to breathe. He ended up spending a total of eight weeks in hospital - the result of getting flu, Covid 19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a common respiratory virus that causes lung and respiratory tract infections. He ended up with pneumonia. Scott half-jokes that the family went to see the Wiggles before he was taken ill and suspects that’s where he may have caught the highly-infectious RSV.
He had to be resuscitated four times, intubated four times and at one stage his blood was so toxic his nervous system virtually shut down.
But with his existing health issues, the ailments almost killed him and at one stage doctors told Belle that he would not recover and palliative care was all that was left for him.
“It was really scary and worrying when they told me that, that my husband might die... But Scott wrote on some paper, it took him a while to write, saying ‘I don’t accept death’,” Belle said.
Scott said: “I wrote that because, despite being weak and sometimes getting hallucinations, I heard them talking about palliative care - and I didn’t want to die.”
‘’They told me that Scott will die because of his existing muscular dystrophy conditions and his respiratory failure,’' Belle said.
It was Scott’s inner strength and Christian faith that saw him pull through, but they are now faced with the loss of their future, a debt of less than $100,000 and a desire to make things right for their customers and suppliers.
Scott and Belle Laurenson have had to put their Kaitāia business into liquidation after Scott had to spend eight weeks in hospital after almost dying
Scott said it was depressing to think that they had let customers and suppliers down, but they were determined to do what they could to repay everybody.
‘’We had people making orders while I was in hospital that we just can’t now meet. I want to make sure we get those people their money back. I want to pay them off as I don’t want to be declared bankrupt, I don’t want that at all.’’
He said it was devastating to think that after 16 years of hard work and struggle they had to close their business due to his ill health.
Scott said one positive was that the couple get to spend more time with their daughter Olivia.
They now have to rely on Winz for income and the couple said they were so grateful, and humble, that the customer - Catherine Giorza - has set up the Givealittle page.
Giorza said the Laurensons were a lovely couple and she admired them for their love and courage.
