"It was scary not knowing what was wrong and meanwhile I was so sick I couldn't even hold my baby. I just spend hours lying down in the shower trying to cope with the pain.
"Matt would bring the baby in to see me, but I felt totally helpless because I was so weak and I could only hold her for a few seconds."
Street's husband Matt France says that "it was pretty frightening" seeing his wife in that state.
"It was really hard seeing Toni going though that straight after the pregnancy and childbirth. It seemed unfair."
Puzzled doctors discharged Street from hospital with no real answers as to what was causing her pain. It wasn't until she sought help from a private specialist was she diagnosed with a diseased gall bladder.
"When the specialist said he'd worked out what it was, I felt like hugging him! I wasn't even nervous about having an operation because I was just so desperate to feel better.
Since the surgery Street is on her way back to full health and able to spend more time with her new baby, now eight weeks old.
Street also has a message for other New Zealand mums: "I want to get the message out to other women who are in pain after having a baby that it could be your gall bladder.
"Apparently it's not uncommon and I'd hate for someone to go weeks like I did wondering what's wrong. I've learnt you really have to push for answers."
• Read the full article in this week's Woman's Day.
- nzherald.co.nz
