Life with T2
As a double-amputee, Paul Rowland has been dealing with a stretched and unwieldy health system, but he is, as he says, ‘a stubborn bugger’.
Staring down his fears
P
aul Rowland was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at 34 years old when he went to the doctor about a cut on his leg that wouldn’t heal. He was determined to manage his diabetes, but, he says, in his late 40s, ‘I started getting cramp in my feet, especially my right foot. I didn’t know what it was. I had to give up football, and by the time I was in my 50s, knew I had a situation – but I disregarded it. I had that “she’ll be right” attitude. Because of my diabetes, I was seeing the doctor every three months, but I never mentioned the cramp until my foot got an infection. LOSS OF ONE LEG
‘I had an angiogram through the groin. It showed two of the three arteries had died and there was no oxygen supply below the ankle.’ Two of Paul’s toes turned black, and he lost feeling in them. He was on a waiting list for an amputation until one toe became fly-blown. It was a Saturday night in 2018 when he noticed. He drove straight to A&E and the very next day he was in surgery. ‘The nurses on the wards were brilliant,’ he says, but, after he left hospital, he found he
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DIABETES WELLNESS | Summer 2021
had little to no support. He had slipped through the cracks in a health system that wasn’t coping. ‘Nobody called me, nobody contacted me ... I sat at home for near on three months before going in to the physio department at Tauranga Hospital.’ At last, things started happening. He began physio and travelled to Hamilton three times to be fitted with an artificial leg. Even so, it was some time before he discovered he was able to claim back his travel expenses from WINZ. A SECOND AMPUTATION
In November 2020, Paul noticed a blister on his left left big toe. He says, ‘That leg went quick.’ By Christmas, the three biggest toes on his foot had died altogether. ‘Between Christmas and New Year, I was in agony.’ His specialist was on holiday, so he wasn’t able to have his leg amputated until January. He’d had more time to prepare for losing his first leg, ‘but with the second leg I was frightened.’ After the operation, ‘I woke up, and when I realised I was alive I just cried.’ However, some things were easier. ‘The first time I had no idea what was going to happen. The second time I knew what services
‘I wear shorts. I’m not selfconscious about artificial limbs ... A few months ago I was in the supermarket and there was a toddler, a little girl who just couldn’t stop staring, so I smiled and gave her a wave and she smiled back.’
I could access ... I could advocate for myself this time around. The hospital knew who I was.’ It was just as well because he soon found he’d slipped through the cracks again. ‘I’m sitting at home and I’m thinking, I’m
