Strangers take role of lifesavers for mum
The lump in Julie Carne’s chest would have killed her and had it not been for the generosity of hundreds of people, her two girls would have lost their mum. This is a good news story. In September Stuff reported on Carne’s terrifying predicament.
Carne, her fiancé Tom Blanning, and daughter Luna (now 4) came from England in 2019. Tom, an anaesthetic technician, was on a talent (accredited employer) work visa. Carne, 41, and Luna were on a partner of a worker work visa.
They had a second daughter, Bee (now aged 2), before moving to Hawke’s Bay, where Blanning took a role at Royston Hospital.
In May, Carne underwent medical checks as part of her residency application. The checks included an X-ray that revealed a large tumour in Carne’s chest.
The discovery came as a huge shock. Carne was an active, fit and healthy woman and there had not been the slightest sign of illness.
The tumour was located in an area that could not be biopsied, so the only way to find out if it was cancerous was to remove it.
Carne was booked in for surgery in Wellington in July. About an hour into the drive to Wellington the family got a call to say that due to staff shortages, the surgery would have to be postponed. Before it could be rescheduled, the family was informed Carne was not eligible for publicly funded surgery, due to her visa status, so the hospital would not be able to do it at all.
Two hospitals – Wellington’s Wakefield and Auckland City – indicated they could perform the surgery if the family could pay for it. The surgery would cost $48,000 – money the family did not have. They looked at other options, including returning to the UK, but that would have put Carne at the bottom of a waiting list and would be a last resort.
Friends began a Givealittle page. Within a little over four weeks, thanks to more than 600 donations, enough was raised for surgery.
Carne had the operation at Wakefield Hospital on October 11 and surgeons were able to remove the fist-sized tumour. Biopsy results revealed this week that it was benign while located in her thymus (a small gland in the lymphatic system) but surgeons said it would have spread to her lung or heart where it would have been malignant, if it had not been removed.
‘‘It was only due to the medical checks it was found. If I had not had that check I would not have known until it was too late, probably in a couple of years,’’ Carne said.
‘‘The surgeons have been able to remove it in its entirety. Moving to New Zealand has absolutely saved my life. Without that medical I would have been a goner,’’ she said.
More than 600 people donated money so Carne could have the surgery. Only a fraction, maybe two dozen, of those donors were known to the family.
Carne began to cry when asked what she would like to say to the donors. ‘‘They have saved my life . . . It is incredible . . . I have never known anything like it.
‘‘Originally I was told it was probably lung cancer. I spent a long time imagining leaving my babies and Tom having to be a single dad. It was a terrifying feeling. The relief I feel now is incredible,’’ she said.
St Luke’s Church in Havelock North came through with a large donation, as did the Havelock North New World and the Rodney Green Foundation.
Three weeks after her surgery the family was granted residency. Carne and Blanning plan to get married next year.