Dame Valerie Adams has opened up about the challenges of caring for a child with a chronic health condition during the coronavirus pandemic.
"Parents in my situation would understand how difficult it is, mentally, emotionally ... it's almost like you have been run over by a bus and have got a newborn baby again," Adams said as she received her first dose of the Pfizer Covid vaccine this morning.
Adams is mum to two children - 3-year-old daughter Kimoana and 2-year-old son Kepaleli - with husband Gabriel Price. Kepaleli was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes last year when he was just 15 months old.
"The unknown of how to deal with a child with Type 1 diabetes, especially being diagnosed quite young ... but we have got it under control ... it does take a village to combat it because we never get a holiday from Type 1 diabetes."
Before getting the Covid jab in Mt Wellington, Auckland this morning, Adams told health officials she was "pretty excited".