‘How much pain is enough?’ Amputee’s struggle for treatment

Saturday, 25 July 2026

When Tony Rowe lost his arm to a maize harvester, the pain was white-hot, but it was rapidly overtaken by adrenaline as he fought to stay alive.

His latest health problem, however, has been debilitatingly painful and has dragged on since March, with little traction from the disjointed medical system.

“That white-hot pain didn't last as long as this pain. When it was gone, it was gone, but this is every day.”

The 53-year-old Waikato man said his current back injury was so painful he couldn’t work, drive or play with his grandchildren, and he had to lie on the floor at night to have a chance at sleep.

On Friday, he had the operation he hoped would allow him to get on with his life — but he and his wife, Kylie, suspect Tony would still be waiting for ACC to act if not for Waikato Times involvement.

The couple believe their experience reflects a wider problem, with different parts of the health system giving him the brush-off, struggling to coordinate and acting as an ambulance at the bottom of a cliff.

They hoped to raise awareness of how hard it could be to get help, and urged people to speak up about their own issues.

“You can't sit back. You have to fight … something’s got to change,” Kylie said.

Tony lost his arm and shoulder in an accident on the family farm near Te Awamutu in 1999, after he tripped and fell by a maize harvester he had not turned off. Kylie was a week away from giving birth to their first child at the time.

Tony was airlifted to Waikato Hospital with major blood loss and was lucky to be alive. If he lived life on the sidelines feeling sorry for himself, he would be the one who missed out, he said.

Urged by ACC, he went back to work as soon as he could.

“I went back on the farm trying to prove I was as good with one arm as I was with two.”

Losing his arm and shoulder meant he carried his weight differently, placing huge strain on his spine. When he “blew out” his back a decade ago, doctors warned he would have more problems in future.

“They said, ‘See how you can get on, how you can manage.’ That was 10 years ago when they fused my spine, and I've done pretty well.”

The couple eventually sold their farm, and in March this year Tony was at his current job, an outdoors reailer, “bending, squatting and lifting”, when he noticed something felt wrong.

“The next morning I went to get out of bed and my hips were so sore, I couldn't really move … I ended up putting up with it for about a week or so, then I went to the doctor.”

The first GP seemed to think his issues were related to his mental health. Several weeks later, another GP referred him to a private specialist for an MRI. However, there was a seven-week wait to find out the results.

Meanwhile, the pain became unmanageable, and by June, Tony “reached breaking point” and went to Waikato Hospital’s ED.

Tony was prescribed pain medication that was ineffective and told to return if neurological symptoms, such as numbness in his leg, worsened.

“Why do patients have to deteriorate further before treatment becomes urgent? Why isn’t severe, debilitating pain enough?” Kylie said.

Health NZ spokesperson Cedric Horner said the hospital’s ED used the Australasian Triage Scale to define which category each patient is assigned to related to the symptoms they present with.

“We would encourage anyone concerns about the care they’ve received to raise this directly with the local hospital.”

The MRI confirmed a significant spinal disc protrusion, but it was not considered sufficient for urgent surgery. A recommended steroid injection made Tony’s symptoms feel worse not better.

Kylie said ACC approvals could take a long time, and she wanted the process started as soon as possible. She said she had to beg for an application to be submitted, and it wasn’t classified as urgent.

The couple was told the decision alone could take four months, and they also worried the subsequent wait for surgery could take months.

Southern Cross Health Insurance told her they couldn’t do anything while waiting for ACC’s decision.

She had tried to plead the case to ACC, she said, but the organisation hadn’t been receptive until she contacted Waikato Times this month. From there, the application was approved and the surgery date was set in quick succession.

Tony had an accepted lifelong ACC injury, yet had rarely asked ACC for anything. Now, when he needed help, he had to fight to get it.

“How much pain is enough before someone is believed, and how much suffering is acceptable before our health system decides it is finally time to act?”

ACC Head of Client Recovery Matthew Goodger said in a statement that ACC had supported Tony as his needs had arisen since his life-changing 1999 injury.

“I am sorry to hear of his recent experience when he reached out to us and acknowledge we could have communicated better with him about the supports available to him.

“I appreciate that waiting for treatment while living with ongoing pain is difficult and I am pleased to hear Tony’s surgery is scheduled.”

After receiving the surgery request, it was approved within 10 working days, he said.

“We are now working closely with Tony and have a dedicated ACC case owner actively supporting him through the next stages of his treatment and recovery.”