Green MP Tamatha Paul shared a post from her hospital bed following her cardiac ablation procedure. Photo / Instagram
Green MP Tamatha Paul shared a post from her hospital bed following her cardiac ablation procedure. Photo / Instagram
Green Party MP Tamatha Paul has revealed she underwent a heart procedure today.
The Wellington Central MP shared a photo of herself in Wellington Hospital after a cardiac ablation - a procedure where doctors use an energy charge to correct an irregular heartbeat.
“About a year into becoming an MP,I noticed changes in my body,” she wrote.
“I did lots of tests and found out that at least a third of all of my heartbeats were irregular.
“Today, I finally got an ablation, which is basically them zapping my heart back into a regular rhythm.”
In the same post, Paul referenced her 2016 diagnosis of the autoimmune disease lupus.
“From a young age, I’ve lived with lupus SLE and rheumatoid arthritis. And as of the last year, I’ve had a fun heart problem too,” she wrote.
Green MP for Wellington Central, Tamatha Paul, in her office at Parliament. Photo / Mark Mitchell
“My whole life I have learnt to mask the impact of my disabilities but they affect me on a daily basis. Chronic pain and fatigue. Sometimes I can’t move or even get out of bed because I am too crippled.
“I am one of the most disabled MPs but try to keep this to myself because I worry that people will use it against me or try to take my independence/ autonomy away by making decisions on my behalf.”
The Green Party MP praised New Zealand’s nurses and doctors and insisted she supported their strikes ahead of a major day of protest on October 23.
“Even if it inconveniences me, because I know that they deserve safe working conditions and fair pay,” she said.
“Nurses and doctors work so damn hard and it makes me feel ill when I see the Health Minister attacking their ethics or blaming them for surgery delays. It is not their fault Minister. It is yours.”
In a speech by Health Minister Simeon Brown to the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists on Thursday, he said doctors’ industrial action “crosses an ethical line” because of the impact on patients.
“No one disputes that doctors need to be recognised for the job you do, but New Zealanders also deserve a health system that works for them,” Brown said.
“Patients should never be collateral damage in disputes between management and unions.”
Paul said Brown “will be accountable for the worrying decline of our public healthcare system”.
“And WE will work together to rebuild our health system to the standard that our country deserves.”
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