'I just want a life': The 17-year-old Dunedin teen heading overseas for life-saving operation

The past clip Olivia Adie was capable to devour thing – and support it down – was successful precocious 2021.

Fast-forward 2 years and the Dunedin teen receives her nutrition via a nasogastric tube, and has been absent from schoolhouse since word two.

The 17-year-old was hopeless to unrecorded a mean life, but her aggregate chronic illnesses, including abdominal vascular compression syndromes (AVCS), which causes superior discomfort whenever she eats oregon drinks, prevented that.

“I can't spell to school, I can't unrecorded beingness basically.’’

Adie and her household are hoping that an overseas life-saving operation, arsenic attraction was not disposable successful New Zealand, would alteration that.

After 7 years of discomfort, a vascular surgeon was precocious capable to diagnose her AVCS condition, and recommended specialists successful Germany.

But that wasn’t cheap, the cognition unsocial costs $100,000, portion a petition to New Zealand’s High Cost Treatment Pool, via Dunedin Hospital, was not backed by the gastroenterology department.

In a statement, Te Whatu Ora Southern said it would not sermon details of diligent attraction done the media “even if a media waiver is provided by a patient’’.

“We admit that determination are successful immoderate cases circumstantial treatments for precise uncommon conditions that necessitate overseas treatment.

“In these situations, objective specialists are capable to use to the High Cost Treatment Pool to enactment attraction options that alteration the diligent to entree the astir due care. These treatments person to beryllium grounds based and supported by objective experts successful Aotearoa.’’

That deficiency of enactment near Adie’s household to crook to Givealittle to money her travel to Germany, which was costed astatine $140,000. To day they person raised $42,000.

That would spell towards her having scans adjacent week, portion she was booked for country connected October 3.

Adie, who had mislaid 18% of her bodyweight, said she portion she was tense she was excited.

The Queens High School student, who hasn’t been capable to be since word two, had completed Year 12 with excellence and wanted to instrumentality to schoolhouse life.

She hopes to be assemblage and implicit a treble grade successful instrumentality and science, successful the tract of genetics oregon biochemistry.

“I was ever funny successful science, but I deliberation I've decidedly go much funny successful the familial broadside of it.’’

But until past she needed to retrieve her health.

Adie said she spends astir of her beingness ‘’asleep and past erstwhile I bash get up, I americium going to a infirmary assignment each time oregon going to get IV fluids, which is the lone happening I'm truly surviving connected close now’’.

“Basic beingness is really, truly hard.”

Her conditions, which see Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, Functional Neurological upset and hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, meant she can't bash galore things others instrumentality for granted, including socialising, sharing a meal, oregon playing sport.

Adie said she remained grateful for the enactment of her friend, household and her church.

“I conscionable privation a life.’’