‘Faking it’
Docs thought dying teen was drug seeker
It began with a sickening pain under Mark Miller’s ribs.
Doctors – struggling to diagnose the problem – decided the Waikato 16-year-old was faking it.
After eight months of seizures and severe weight loss, the Te Kowhai teenager was diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis, an inflammation of the pancreas with potentially fatal complications.
‘‘It’s a horrible story, actually,’’ his father, John Miller, said.
John recalls watching, helpless to ease his son’s pain, as Mark curled in a foetal position.
‘‘We would rock up to hospital and doctors that had seen us previously would kind of roll their eyes,’’ John said.
‘‘[They said] that he was mentally unwell, had an eating disorder, was attention seeking.
‘‘The doctor said – in front of Mark – ‘This is classic drug-seeking behaviour.’ ’’
With doctors stumped, Mark had his gall bladder removed in case it was related.
But he just got sicker.
In November 2016, Mark’s weight had dropped to 38kg and he began having seizures.
His parents found him unconscious in a pool of vomit.
‘‘He was about as close to dying from this that you can get,’’ John said. ‘‘[The hospital] tried to discharge him again and I just said, ‘Look, not going to happen. We’re scared he’s going to die, we can’t sleep at night because my wife is getting up every half an hour to check that he’s still alive.’ ’’
In a letter sent to the family in 2016 – sighted by Stuff – the Waikato District Health Board confirmed that Mark was not anorexic, a drug seeker or mentally unstable.
‘‘When it comes to diagnosing pain, things like eating disorders, drug seeking and mental illness need to be explored,’’ the letter said.
‘‘This was not the case for Mark and has caused offence, to which we apologise for.’’
While the apology is appreciated, it doesn’t change much, John said. Mark hasn’t been able to attend school for two years.
And John – who has kept a journal of Mark’s hospital visits – spent 200 hours at the hospital with Mark last year. He’s run out of both sick leave and holiday leave.
‘‘I know that if I’m not there, he won’t get the care that he needs.’’
In a written statement, Waikato Hospital Director of Medicine, Oncology and Emergency Department Alex Gordon said he couldn’t comment on Mark’s case in any detail because of privacy reasons.
But he said the hospital manages ‘‘highly complex’’ cases across the region.
‘‘It is unusual for chronic pancreatitis to develop in young people and teenagers.
‘‘The clinicians involved have been working with the patient and family to ensure our processes allow senior review of complex cases such as this at an earlier stage of their illness.’’
Things are finally looking up for Mark, who underwent an expensive speciality surgery on May 17. The family had to remortgage their home and empty their retirement savings to pay for the surgery, which restructured Mark’s pancreas.
There was still a shortfall, but donations from a Givealittle page set up by Mark’s aunt got them over the line in time. Memories of the hospital visits, however, won’t be forgotten by the family any time soon.
‘‘It’s been massively traumatic,’’ John said.
The family felt it was important to highlight Mark’s story and remind people going through something similar that they’re not alone.
‘‘There are some real heroes at the hospital. But the system is really broken.’’