Full speed ahead, captain Tama
Tama Kirikiri brought speed and a physical presence to the rugby field that made him a problem to put down.
Standing 188 centimetres’ tall and weighing 85 kilograms, the 17-yearold wore the captaincy of Tauranga Boys’ College’s third XV team with pride.
But when a concussion cut down the teenager in October, a CAT scan revealed there was a kiwifruit-sized tumour applying pressure to Tama’s brain stem.
That head knock eventually left him unable to lift a finger, and fighting a myriad debilitating and life-threatening problems.
Specialists told his parents he was going to die.
‘‘He was vomiting so he couldn’t eat, and was having massive headaches, which we later found out was due to the swelling in his brain,’’ said his father, Rick Kirikiri.
A 41⁄2-hour operation in November removed roughly 99 per cent of the tumour, but Tama’s recovery quickly went awry.
Food was finding its way into his lungs, giving him a chest infection. Meanwhile, the surgery had affected his throat muscles and ability to swallow.
Four days later, he stopped breathing and was admitted to the Wellington Hospital’s intensive care unit for three weeks.
Medical staff later put Tama into a 24-hour induced coma to help his body recover but he was paralysed when he regained consciousness.
Mum Eina Kirikiri said her son was still that way two days later. ‘‘Staff didn’t have an explanation as to why.’’
Difficulty with breathing sent Tama back to ICU for another week.
‘‘As it turned out, he was having seizure clusters but they were internal, and no-one was picking up [the signs],’’ Eina Kirikiri said.
‘‘But also, he managed to have a minor stroke, nothing serious enough to cause any real major damage.’’
By this stage, Tama had lost nearly half his body weight.
By mid-November he was forced to use a wheelchair, still with no movement.
That is until he wiggled a toe, lifted a finger, raised an eyebrow and shrugged his shoulders.
‘‘I was beside myself, I said ‘cut it out Tama’ and then he shrugged his shoulders, and then I yelled out to everyone,’’ Eina Kirikiri said.
‘‘Up until that point, staff felt as distressed as we were because they had tried everything only for him to deteriorate, and they couldn’t understand why it was happening.
‘‘There was still no medical reason for him not to be moving, so when he did start moving it was like the greatest thing.’’
Tama then tackled his next obstacle – a six-week radiation programme to remove the tumour’s remnants – with his usual determination.
Then, finally, some good news. Earlier this month, hospital staff and Super Rugby Hurricanes’ management organised his first day out of hospital in more than 100 days.
Tama’s smile was infectious after meeting his rugby heroes Julian Savea, Dane Coles and Jordie Barrett.
‘‘You couldn’t wipe his smile off of his face, he lit up the whole blimmin’ ward,’’ Eina Kirikiri said.
It has been an emotional rollercoaster for the family, who have spent months living away from their Hastings home to be with Tama in Wellington.
While his recovery will be long, with a multitude of physiotherapy and speech-therapy sessions ahead, Eina Kirikiri said it wouldn’t have been possible without the hospital’s staff.
‘‘He’s doing really well now, even the physio said so. They feel it won’t take long at all for him to come right, and the best part is, there’s nothing wrong with his brain – he’s still so very cheeky.’’
‘‘It turned out he was having seizure clusters but they were internal, and noone was picking up [the signs].’’
Tama Kirikiri’s mother, Eina