The popular Kiwi has shared a shocking story about her medical experience. Photo / Supplied
The popular Kiwi has shared a shocking story about her medical experience. Photo / Supplied
Mental health advocate and former Young New Zealander of the Year Jazz Thornton has revealed details of her experience with “medical gaslighting” in the New Zealand healthcare system.
The 28-year-old took to TikTok this week telling her followers about a “rollercoaster” journey she experienced with a medical professional while seekinghelp for an unknown condition.
Performing her skincare routine as she told the story, barefaced Thornton said, “Two years ago I started having these really weird and like unknown arm issues. Basically, all of my veins pop out, my whole arm swells and like the only way to relieve it is putting it up in the air.”
The former Dancing With The Stars winner then showed a photo of her right arm, red and flared up in comparison to her left arm which had completely normal colouring and blood flow.
Noting that the flare-ups would occur anywhere between five to 20 times a day, she pulled up another photo, explaining the flare-ups would only happen from her mid forearm down while the rest of her arm was “fine”.
The star said the flare up only happens from her mid forearm down. Photo / Supplied
“You can literally see like that little spot there is where the blood circulation or whatever it was cut off so the rest of my arm was fine,” she said.
Concerned and unsure what could be causing the condition, she attended multiple hospital and doctor appointments before finally, she was referred to a specialist. The mental health advocate claims this is when she experienced “medical gaslighting”.
Jazz Thornton compared her arms side by side when the flare up occurred. Photo / Supplied
Explaining the specialist worked at was the same hospital she had received a lot of her mental health care years ago as a teenager, she said, “I remember walking into the specialist’s office and on the screen my file is open and in his hands is like a physical copy of my file.”
“This was like an older man doctor and he literally looked at me and was like ‘I read your files, you and I both know that there’s nothing wrong.’”
Shocked by his comment, Thornton told her TikTok audience, “I remember just sitting there like ‘I’m sorry, what?’ I was trying to explain to him, you know this has been happening for like so long no one knows what’s going on, I showed him the photos, I showed him the videos, he did not care. He literally said, ‘Oh, we both know you just hold your hand up like this for ages and that’s what will do it’.”
Thornton told her TikTok audience that she found the doctor’s words all the more shocking as the appointment came two days after she had won Young New Zealander of the Year for her work in mental health advocacy - meaning her story and ability to overcome her past struggles were “well known”.
Despite this, she said he “obviously had no idea” and insinuated he treated her the way he did because of her past medical experiences.
“Basically because of all the mental health files - which were from years ago by the way, he just chose not to believe me and I left his room bawling my eyes out.”
She said his treatment of her made her ask herself, “how are you treating people that are currently still battling mental health stuff? And you’re interfering with their physical health care because of their past history or current history”.
Speaking to the Herald, Thornton revealed she did not go back to the original specialist, nor did she lay a formal complaint as she wanted to wait until she received an official diagnosis - which is yet to happen. However, she has since sought a second opinion describing the second specialist as “wonderful”.
“He believed me,” she said, “but he also didn’t know what it was as usually it happens the opposite way where the arm is up and it clogs, but mine was down.”
Thornton is yet to receive an official diagnosis for the condition which she still experiences to this day.
Currently, she has been tested for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and has had a lump removed from her arm in hopes it would help but unfortunately, it didn’t. Thornton’s specialist and GP believe the condition could be in relation to an anatomical constriction issue.
At this stage, it’s an unofficial diagnosis that ultimately, only raises more questions for the mental health advocate.
“If it was a constriction thing, why did it only come on a couple of years ago? It never happened before then.”
While the Hope Is Real podcast host continues her search for answers about the unknown condition - even asking her two million-person audience on TikTok for advice, the star has a warning for those who have experienced similar situations with doctors based on their medical background.
“Know your worth!” she said. “Keep trying until someone listens. Medical gaslighting is a real thing and you deserve better.”
