Teen’s Christmas tummy bug proves to be rare life-threatening kidney illness
Tuesday, 23 June 2026
A Canterbury mum is baking her way through June to raise money for Starship Children’s Hospital after her teenage daughter was flown to Auckland in a medical emergency that changed their family’s life.
Sarah Smith, from Oxford in North Canterbury, is taking part in the Starship Big Bake Off after Olivia, now 16, recovered from a rare and serious kidney condition that saw her spend three weeks in intensive treatment at Starship.
In January 2024, what first looked like a stomach bug quickly escalated into something far more serious.
“She’s really good at the moment,” Sarah said of Olivia now. “She’s pretty much fully recovered.”
At the time, Olivia, then 14, had been unwell for around 10 days over the Christmas and New Year period. Despite a number of medical consultations over the phone, her symptoms worsened.
“My husband and I were both unwell at the time, although our two younger children were fine,” Smith recalled.
“Olivia seemed to be getting worse and we had several phone consultations over the course of about 10 days.”
On day nine, her condition deteriorated and the family took her to Christchurch Hospital, where doctors identified a serious kidney problem.
Soon after they received the shocking news that she would need to be flown to Starship Hospital.
“It was a huge shock. I had expected she might need fluids, antibiotics and perhaps an overnight stay. It was very scary.”
The transfer happened quickly, with Olivia arriving at Starship around 4am, less than 24 hours after she was first taken to Christchurch Hospital. “It was all a bit of a blur. There were a lot of tests going on … we seemed to be there forever.”
At Starship, Olivia was diagnosed with haemolytic uraemic syndrome, a rare complication of an E coli infection that can lead to kidney failure. She required emergency dialysis via a tube inserted into her stomach.
The illness had caused her kidneys to begin shutting down, and doctors moved quickly to stabilise her.
Smith stayed with her throughout the three-week admission, sleeping on a fold-out bed next to her daughter’s hospital bed.
“It was really tough,” she said.
The experience was made more difficult by Olivia’s autism spectrum diagnosis and extreme phobia of needles, which made parts of the treatment particularly distressing.
Despite the trauma of the experience, Smith said moments of kindness stood out.
In one instance, Olivia joked with a staff member who asked what she needed, saying she wanted a pomegranate. The next day, the staff member returned with a pomegranate-flavoured muffin.
“Olivia managed to keep her sense of humour throughout the whole thing,” Smith said.
Olivia recalls the care she received from staff as overwhelmingly positive.
“They were really nice, professional, polite, warm and friendly,” she said. “The staff there were amazing. There was a dog — that was good.”
Olivia has since returned to school full-time, is back enjoying daily life, and only requires annual check-ups. “Living life as per norm,” Smith said.
The family remain grateful for the care they received at Starship, Smith describing staff as “brilliant” in how quickly they responded once the seriousness of Olivia’s condition became clear.
Now, she is channelling that experience into fundraising through the Starship Big Bake Off, with a target of $250 and weekly baking challenges.
Starship Children's Hospital recently completed its largest redevelopment in 35 years, including a $48 million, 45% expansion of its paediatric intensive care unit.
The project, backed by significant public donations and government funds, added more beds, improved staff facilities, and expanded whānau (family) areas to support critically ill children across Aotearoa.
Opened in 1991, it was one of the first purpose-built children’s hospitals in New Zealand, and is the largest such facility in the country.