Of the people, by the people
The Dominion Post asked some people on Wellington city’s streets yesterday for their thoughts on the actions of the city council.
Olive Rangi
‘‘There’s no unity at all. They’re like a bunch of kids. They should be talking to each other more, to get them on the same page. Their leader needs to step up and unite them.‘‘
Bev Wells ‘‘My response [to the news] this past week has been that, by the next election, I would expect candidates to have completed formal governance training before they put their names forward. I’m frustrated – you put all this thought into who to vote for, and then there’s all this in-fighting.’’
Mark Stables ‘‘I’m ambivalent. I know that sounds like a selfish mindset, but it isn’t something that affects me, so it’s hard to say.’’
Chrissy Webb
‘‘They certainly need to do some work to get the infrastructure going in the city. It doesn’t matter who’s right and who’s wrong, things need fixing. They’re supposed to be all for one: for the city.’’
Amber Smith ‘‘If we all behaved like that, we’d all be unemployed.’’
Christian Young ‘‘You can whinge and moan and throw people under the bus, but it’s all too shortsighted. I have no problem paying taxes to support my people, but I don’t want them raised now to solve short-term problems that will result in more tax raises later.’’
‘‘If we all behaved like that, we’d all be unemployed.’’ Amber Smith
On her way out of hospital and recovering from life-altering surgery which meant she could never have a baby, Kristyn Morgan bumped into a father holding his newborn.
At only 21, Morgan had been faced with an impossible choice: continue bleeding, an affliction which had stumped doctors for two years and left her constantly fatigued, or have her womb removed.
She chose the latter, becoming one of the youngest people in New Zealand to undergo a hysterectomy. Now she wants other young women who might be facing infertility to know they are not alone.
‘‘Even though I had good people around me, I was so lonely,’’ she said. ‘‘I didn’t know if anyone my own age had had it. A young hysterectomy is considered 35, [years old] not 21.’’
Her ordeal began two years ago, when she started – and didn’t stop – bleeding heavily. It made life difficult for the hairdresser, who would spend all day on her feet. ‘‘I tried contraceptives. I had more scans and blood tests than I can count, it is ridiculous.
‘‘I don’t even know how many I have had. I tried hormone pills, everything under the sun,’’ she said.
She was frustrated that clinicians couldn’t work out what was wrong. ‘‘There’s not enough research into women’s health.’’
Last July, Morgan was given an injection to induce an early menopause. ‘‘It should’ve turned everything off,’’ she said.
Instead, it left her with mood swings and hot flushes, and she was still bleeding.
The final option was a hysterectomy where the uterus, and in some cases the cervix, is removed. Her surgeon was uneasy about performing the procedure on one so young, and she battled with her own demons.
‘‘It was a really hard few months leading up to it,’’ she said. ‘‘I think it was not knowing if I was doing the right thing. So many people have so many big opinions on it.’’
Before her surgery she had held out hope she could have her own children one day, even though clinicians said the bleeding made it unlikely. Egg-freezing was out of reach financially, carrying a $20,000 price tag.
‘‘It is a big option to have taken away because of money,’’ she said. ‘‘I know so many women get told they can’t have children, [but] this is just so final for me.’’
Morgan is recovering at home in Newlands, Wellington, two weeks after her surgery. It will be weeks before she can work again. She hadn’t been offered any psychological support or counselling, and said there was not enough support out there.
‘‘You need to grieve the loss. I have gone through the grief stages: I have been sad about it, I have been in denial,’’ she said. ‘‘But if I can help even one person not feel so alone as I did, that is all I want.’’
‘‘There’s not enough research into women’s health.’’ Kristyn Morgan