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Two women with the same disease and the same medical treatment plans say they cannot understand why one of them received an MIQ waiver and the other rejected it.
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Both women had to go abroad for treatment, but only one of them was allowed to self-isolate at home, one of 12 exemptions in the past eight months. Source: 1 NEWS
The Tauranga woman, Karen Taylor, had suffered from multiple sclerosis, a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord, since 1996, but says it has gotten much worse lately, affecting her ability to walk and see.
“I just reject every day. Every day there is something worse, even this morning I could barely walk. Yesterday my eyesight was very, very bad. “
She has booked to undergo HSCT treatment at the Ruiz Clinic in Mexico in May. Treatment involves intense chemotherapy that aims to stop the damage by eliminating and then regenerating the immune system, using the patient’s stem cells. Not available in New Zealand.
“Because I will have two or three weeks of chemotherapy, I will lose my immune system. I’m going to be very, very sick, ”says Taylor.
Due to her lowered immunity, Karen’s hematologist, local neurologist, and GP in Mexico have recommended that she self-isolate at home upon her return to New Zealand, rather than in an MIQ facility along with possible cases of Covid-19.
Her GP said it would be “difficult and risky” for Taylor to isolate her in a managed facility, and her neurologist said that “her risk of acquiring Covid in New Zealand is lower if she isolates herself at her home in Tauranga.”
Despite the recommendations, his MIQ waiver request was rejected in February.
Letters to Taylor from the MIQ team said that her medical needs “can be met in an isolation center,” and that a nurse would assess her upon arrival.
Taylor says she’s “absolutely devastated.”
“It is definitely stressful. It has taken its toll on me. I’ve had a lot of tears … really anxious. “
Taylor’s friend Lee Merritt, also from Tauranga, also has multiple sclerosis and was treated at the Ruiz Clinic late last year. She says that after months of trying, she was granted the MIQ exemption seven hours before she was due to fly home, and was able to isolate herself at home with a caregiver in November.
Lee Merritt receives a Covid-19 test while isolating himself at home. Source: Supplied
“I needed help to shower because you are very weak, of course. I needed help cooking because you are neutropenic and you need to follow a special diet. “
She believes that there was no risk to the community by doing her isolation at home, as she had a security escort from the airport; the gates to her property were closed behind her; and had regular random checks from the police, as well as daily calls from nurses.
“We were no risk to New Zealand,” says Merritt.
Merritt says there is “no way” she could have spent two weeks alone in MIQ while recovering from HSCT treatment.
Lee Merritt receiving treatment at the Ruiz Clinic in Mexico. Source: Supplied
“I would not have taken it at all, you are so, so weak and sick. Going to the bathroom and having to get out of the bathroom is so unstable on your feet. If you fall, it is dangerous. “
In an email to Taylor earlier this month, the MIQ team told her that while MIQ can provide assistance for 1 to 2 hours a day, “we cannot provide 24-hour care.”
The email recommended that a support person join her while she was in her hotel room, but Taylor says she doesn’t know of anyone who could spend two weeks with her at an MIQ facility, including her husband who has epilepsy.
Paul Taylor says it has been “really difficult” to watch his wife deteriorate, but he is unable to help her at MIQ due to her severe seizures. He says he was hospitalized for four days last week.
“If I have a severe seizure… I have no memory or knowledge of what happened and sometimes I end up in intensive care. That’s the last thing you want to happen. “
The email sent to Taylor assured her that she would be placed in an MIQ facility near Auckland City Hospital, but could not say which one “as this is only finalized 48 hours in advance and is dependent on availability at the time of your arrival “.
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Karen Taylor says she can’t understand why her friend, who has the same condition, was allowed to isolate herself at home. Source: 1 NEWS
Taylor says she was hoping to get a room with a balcony for fresh air since she can’t leave her room to go to the hotel courtyard.
“We cannot guarantee that you will be allocated a room with a balcony as these facilities are limited,” the email read.
Immunologist and associate professor Rohan Ameratunga says it is “well recognized” that people with weak immune systems are at increased risk of contracting and suffering from Covid-19.
“The immune system will be severely compromised, especially in the first few days after chemotherapy conditioning.”
But he says there is risk in traveling to Mexico. He also says that recent studies have shown that immunosuppressed people can harbor the virus for longer than healthy people.
“There is a slightly higher risk of acquiring Covid from an MIQ facility, but on the other hand, if the person is one of these chronically infected people, that could be a serious problem for the family and the community.”
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) told 1 NEWS The Taylor and Merritt cases have been treated differently because MIQ was unable to “meet” Taylor’s needs at the time he applied.
“In Ms. Taylor’s case, her application was rejected because the independent health advisor determined that her needs can be met within a managed isolation facility and she did not need hospital-level care. As part of this evaluation, the evaluator consulted with a hematologist at Auckland City Hospital. “
“This assessment differs from Ms. Merritt’s, where the facility was unable to meet her specific medical needs at the time she applied last year.
“Managed isolation facilities are equipped to handle most medical needs, unless admission to hospital is required … A comprehensive plan will be developed to assist Ms. Taylor in her room and meet her dietary requirements “.
When asked if MIQ will reevaluate Taylor’s case, MIQ said his situation “may be reevaluated at any time, prior to entering Managed Isolation, or while in Managed Isolation, if his medical circumstances change.”
Have a story about MIQ? Email our reporter Kristin Hall at [email protected]
