Delivery driver Mark Nand personally delivered life-saving chemotherapy drugs to Piha local Bobbie Carroll, right, after the vital package was initially delayed. Photo/Supplied.
Delivery driver Mark Nand personally delivered life-saving chemotherapy drugs to Piha local Bobbie Carroll, right, after the vital package was initially delayed. Photo/Supplied.
A woman with terminal blood cancer went for a week without life-saving chemotherapy drugs because dangerous roads stopped the vital delivery getting through.
Piha local Bobbie Carroll was expecting a month’s supply of a new drug just as Cyclone Gabrielle hit the west coast beach community.
Landslips, flooding and dangerous roads meant the delivery driver didn’t make the trip out and the much-needed drugs were delayed.
“It was such a stressful time because I knew I had already started to relapse and my previous chemotherapy drugs had stopped working,” she said.
“I was desperate to get the new drugs and spent the week trying to find them and get them through.”
Carroll initially thought the precious package had been turned away at a roadblock but later found it was sitting at a depot in Penrose.
When the roads were passable the delivery was further delayed because the courier driver was not aware of its contents and also because NZ Couriers only has a contract to deliver to Piha on a Wednesday.
Carroll now wants to see urgent medical supplies labelled so those delivering them know how important they are.
“Like I said to our local gorgeous policeman these drugs are life-saving, I needed them straight away,” she said.
“If urgent medical supplies are labelled as urgent at least the driver can make other arrangements.”
Carroll said it took six days and “a community coming together” to get the month-long supply of the drug finally delivered to her.
Local police and medical staff at the Surf Club helped Carroll find the package and get an urgent message to NZ Couriers.
“It took some effort but we finally got it sorted with our gorgeous local policeman Greg and the people from first response and the health people down at the Surf Club.
“So many people tried but in the end, it was the police that pushed and got it through.”
As soon as NZ Couriers was aware the package contained life-saving drugs one of their drivers swapped his van for a 4-wheel drive and personally delivered it.
Carroll said delivery driver Mark Nand searched for almost an hour for the package back at the depot and then delivered it himself.
“He was just amazing, such a gorgeous man and he drove out here to my home and put these drugs, I so needed, right into my hand. I gave him a big hug.
“When he realised that it had life-saving drugs in it he used his nous and made sure he got it to me.”
Devon Buckingham, general manager, New Zealand Couriers, apologised to Carroll on behalf of NZ Couriers for the lack of contact.
“While we do not know the contents of the majority of packages we are delivering, we apologise for not proactively contacting the customer to arrange a solution when the scheduled delivery could not be achieved safely,” he said.
“We regret that the resident had to contact us for a resolution, though thankfully another quick-thinking NZC contractor, Mark, swapped his van to an SUV for safe passage through the affected area on Friday.”
“We are very thankful that Mark found a workaround to get this delivered once we knew it was an essential item.”
The delay in getting the new drugs meant the blood cancer Multiple myeloma Carroll is battling has relapsed further still.
Bobbie Carroll, who has terminal blood cancer, waited a week for urgent chemotherapy drugs because of dangerous roads into Piha. New Zealand Herald photograph from video
A recent MRI shows she now has more holes in her bones from the cancer.
“It is a terrible bone-munching cancer. Mine is treatable with chemotherapy but it is terminal,” Carroll said.
“The only good thing in all of this is that we now have euthanasia. That takes the scary thought of ‘how I am going to die’ and ‘what will my death be like’ away.”
Carroll said the Piha community had drawn together since the cyclone hit with everyone helping each other out, donating time and energy.
Neighbours had dropped fresh ginger on Carroll’s doorstep for nausea from the chemotherapy and Carroll’s partner Julia Woodhouse had baked carrot cakes for volunteers at the surf club.
People with generators had cooked meals for those without power and others had offered showers, breakfasts, and cups of tea.
“The young people in the community have really stepped up and looked after the older ones. We have had acupuncture sessions for shock, we have been fed and cared for,” Carroll said.
