Havelock North resident Scott Kelly was living a normal life, working as a plumber when he contracted campylobacter after drinking from the contaminated water supply in Havelock North last August.
Since then he said he has spent three weeks in hospital, lost his job, dropped 12kg of body weight, taken out a $20,000 loan to keep up with his mortgage, undergone surgery removing one quarter of his bowel and never drunk tap water again.
"I'm not okay. I'm never going to be the same again. It was a major disaster. It was a Third World country thing that shouldn't have happened," he said.
Hawke's Bay Today spoke to Mr Kelly yesterday after he was discharged from Hawke's Bay Hospital where he receives treatment for ongoing health issues.
His prospects for compensation after the gastro outbreak? Nil, he said.