Hilary's recovery from Breast Implant Illness

Kia ora team, I need your help!

When I was 19 I had breast reconstruction surgery to fix my wonky boobs, one was an A cup and the other was a G cup, yep that's 6 sizes different. I would've been a prime contestant for embarrassing bodies NZ and boy was I embarrassed by my body as a teenager! Mum sewed together a bunch of shoulder pads for me to pad my bra with and when I was 16 got my very own, proper prosthesis to wear.

In my first year of uni I got the call to say I was finally at the top of the list for a reconstruction. The surgery seemed life saving at the time and involved a reduction on one side and an implant on the other. Unfortunately the implant has been making me really sick ever since!

I've been getting sicker and sicker over the years and I was unable to work for the first 6 months of this year. The 40 plus symptoms have had a huge impact on my quality of life over the last 8 years. These symptoms include Fibromylgia (essentially a chronic fatigue and pain condition), Brain fog, digestive issues, a compromised immune system and many more.

I have spent thousands and thousands of dollars over the years trying to figure out what was making me sick with no result. I've seen countless doctors, specialists and natural therapists and none of them could help, my test results were all normal. I think they thought I was a little crazy!

Luckily at the start of this year after being super sick my mum had a light blub moment, it's the implant!

So we started researching and what we found was hundreds of thousands of women worldwide suffering from the same symptoms, all with one thing in common, breast implants.

Although breast implant illness is effecting so many women worldwide many surgeons in the medical industry are still denying its real but the thing is, women after women are making a full recovery once the implants are removed.

I have spent the entirety of this year trying to get the public system, who performed my original surgery to help me. They said no. Even though my implant is burning and swollen and causing me so many issues, because it is still intact they have refused to operate.

This left me no choice but to investigate going privately. I found a surgeon in Auckland that was recommended through the NZ/Aus BII support group and I had my consultation at the end of September. He had no doubt that my implant was causing my issues and named several of his patients that had made a full recovery post explant. In fact I was the 3rd patient that day wanting their implants out and it was only 11am.

The good news is I can have my surgery done on the 8th of Jan 2019, but unfortunately getting this done privately comes with a big price tag and thats where I need your help! It is going to cost me $17,600 to have this surgery but I really do believe you can't put a price on your health.

Through this journey I have learnt strength and determination that I never knew I had. I have managed to go from being unable to walk to the letterboxes some days to recently starting work again. I have learnt the importance of support networks and sharing your story, I’ve learnt to fight for what you know is right and that it is always ok to ask for help.

If it wasn't for the other brave women who have shared their story, I wouldn't be in this position and I know that I need to share my story and use my voice to make sure other women get the help they need and so that the medical industry stops denying this illness. The scary thing is 1 in 4,000 women will develop Lymphoma from their implants.

Thank you so much for reading my story and supporting me on my journey back to full health.

Arohanui,

Hilary