NZ woman stranded in America, after traveling for major surgery NOT able to be done in NZ.

Glenys had mesh implanted in 2006 and has since experienced severe constant debilitating symptoms including pelvic and leg pain, resulting in her being unable to work or even sit or walk far. Since 2006 she has had 12 operations in New Zealand to remove parts of the mesh and treat its complications. However, not all the mesh was able to be removed, leaving her with multiple complications and in constant pain.

Leading NZ specialist Dr Eva Fong stated that "because of the multiple previous attempts and the now, piecemeal nature and locations of the mesh, Glenys’s case is extremely challenging. I supported her to travel to the United States to seek her procedure with Dr Veronikis both because of the technical difficulty and because I believed this was the most likely to ensure this was her final mesh removal surgery." “He is one of the most experienced mesh removal specialists globally.”

Despite her injury being covered by ACC, they would not fund her necessary surgery overseas. Instead, Glenys spent 4 years suffering in immense pain whilst saving $70K so she could have this life changing surgery. A spot opened up and on July 2nd Glenys underwent a successful 8 hour operation in St Louis America by the world's leading mesh removal expert. However, after being promised an emergency spot in MIQ, it was declined just hours before her flight was due to leave.

After 2 more applications which were also declined, multiple supporting letters by her specialists and 3 media articles, Glenys has finally been granted an emergency spot in MIQ and is now waiting for a flight date so she can return home. In the meantime however, she was readmitted to hospital, had to incur additional accommodation and medical costs on discharge and finally, as she had no idea how long she would be stranded in the states, her only option was to undertake extremely painful travel to stay with her brother who lives 10 hours away. Glenys does not want to ask for help, but we would like to be able to help her by contributing to the large unexpected additional costs she has incurred and reducing the stress this awful situation has caused her. This is why this page has been set up and we are very grateful to everyone for their support!