Northland widower calls for mental health checks in hospital after wife’s starvation death

Mark Lagerstedt says his wife, Reinhild Langwald (pictured left), was unable to cope with the stress of being in hospital because of her childhood wartime trauma. Photo / Denise Piper

A Kerikeri man whose wife died of starvation after two strokes believes stress from her hospital care contributed to her death.

Mark Lagerstedt wants hospitals to consider mental illness before admitting patients, and believes awareness of his wife’s extreme post-traumatic stress could have saved her from a harrowing death.

Reinhild Langwald was relatively well when first admitted to Auckland City Hospital on January 15 for problems in her right foot, caused by diabetes and plaque build-up in her leg artery.

She died on February 16 at Whangārei Hospital after what he describes as “a month of hell” at the two hospitals, which Lagerstedt said included panic attacks almost every day and being guarded at her hospital bed.

Langwald suffered two strokes during that time. Lagerstedt said a stomach ulcer contributed to her inability to eat and she eventually died of starvation.

Health NZ Te Whatu Ora said she had received satisfactory care but encouraged Lagerstedt to get in touch with any questions he may have.

Lagerstedt said he was awaiting a response to questions he sent on March 11.

He was most concerned his wife was not asked about any mental health issues and that her hyper-anxiety from wartime experiences as a child was not recognised.

Born in 1939 in what at the time was Königsberg, Germany – now Kaliningrad in Russia – Langwald and her family fled the Red Army when she was 5 in a “horrific, horrific experience”, he said.

“For people like Reinhild, you had the trauma so young that you have no experience of life before the trauma ... You’ve never, ever felt not anxious.”

Langwald worked as a teacher and lecturer, travelling extensively and researching countries before visiting them.

She had no children and did not marry until later in life, moving to New Zealand in 2006.

To help manage her anxiety, the couple’s time together involved routine and meditation, with Langwald’s love for adventure nourished with cruises and well-researched travel.

Alternative medicines should be considered

As Langwald declined in hospital, Lagerstedt wanted to try traditional Chinese or other complementary medicines to calm her, but this was not allowed.

Reinhild Langwald (left) and Mark Lagerstedt married in Kerikeri in 2014.

Clinicians said she was suffering from dementia, but he did not believe this because of the way she kept referring to her childhood wartime incidents.

Lagerstedt would like to see alternative medicines as an option, if not in mainstream hospitals, then in “charter hospitals”, which could run the same way charter schools do.

“If they could do that: one, recognise mental health issues; two, have complementary medicine, that would save billions on the health budget.”

He believed the hospitals contributed to Langwald’s anxiety by changing plans, giving the example of her transfer from Auckland City Hospital to Whangārei Hospital on January 27.

He was told he could ride with Langwald in the ambulance, helping ease her anxiety, but this was changed at the last minute.

“Reinhild didn’t know what was going on.”

It led Lagerstedt to feel as if they had pulled the rug from under his feet.

Mark Lagerstedt says his wife, Reinhild Langwald, had a love of bright colours and adventure.

“People with that sort of mental health issue like to be with their whānau. They don’t like to be on their own. They’re scared, terrified on their own,” he said.

“I accept that we all have to die, but I didn’t think it should be such a traumatic death.”

Thousands of Kiwis suffer childhood trauma, but the effects are not recognised or treated here, with the condition not even named, he said.

Health NZ satisfied with care

Andrew Brant, Health NZ’s executive regional director for the northern area, said staff acknowledged Langwald’s death.

“Our thoughts are with her husband, family and friends who lost a loved one.”

Health NZ reviewed the care provided to Langwald during her stays at Auckland City and Whangārei Hospitals, and was satisfied she received “an appropriate standard of care throughout her admissions”, Brant said.

Consultation with her family was comprehensive, he said.

Brant extended support to Lagerstedt and encouraged him to get in touch or to contact the Health and Disability Commissioner for an independent review.

Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.