Kamala is nearly four weeks post-surgery, and the bits of her brain that were bumped when they took out the last of the tumour have left her with minimal control of her left foot. However, this is improving rapidly. Unfortunately the screwy NZ health system is stacked against her.
In NZ, if you have an accident, you are very well covered by the ACC, the Accident Compensation Commission. However, other medical treatment is pretty dismal, whether it be a stroke, or cancer, or a congenital condition. This is one of the reasons it took Kamala having a massive seizure before her condition was diagnosed: it is very hard to get an MRI covered without insurance, due to the number of hoops that have to be jumped through to get it approved.
That said, they've done a good job. They only shaved a minimum of her head, in a T (she said it looked far more impressive when it still had the staples), making the psychological recovery that much easier.
We didn't see her boys as Kamala's dad, Stuart, had taken them to a play (he has been taking the boys each day during school holidays). K thought it would be far simpler if her boys didn't know we were visiting, so our arrival was delayed until after they'd left. When you're five years old (give or take), sometimes not knowing is definitely the best.
Unfortunately, we weren't able to stay long, partly due to our own schedule's demands, and partly due to Kamala not yet being at full strength. It was wonderful to see her, however briefly, and thank her for our opportunity to come to NZ at her expense. (The Chc-Mel ticket was bought for her and her family, but K chose to not delay her surgery further, and therefore couldn't use the flight.)
(It is very difficult to get a good photo when the boys are mucking about.)
Kia kaha, Kamala.
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