Tuvaluan patient says thank you

By MARTIN JOHNSTON

Senee Niusila, the renal dialysis patient handed a lifeline by the Government, hopes he will be able to have a kidney transplant.

From their home overlooking Auckland's Northwestern Motorway, Mr Niusila and his wife, Teremoana Nga, yesterday described the trauma of his nearly dying and their joy at the Government's move.

Mr Niusila's lawyer said his client wanted to get well, return to work and if possible have a transplant.

A 30-year-old Tuvaluan father of one and stepfather of two, Mr Niusila had faced the withdrawal of kidney dialysis treatment yesterday at Auckland Hospital under a Government clampdown on treating foreign patients aimed at cutting costs.

He was an overstayer, but Immigration Minister Lianne Dalziel granted him a two-year temporary work permit so that he could continue to receive dialysis.

Doctors have said he would die within weeks without it.

Ms Dalziel said she intervened because he was eligible for residency on the grounds that he had married a New Zealand citizen in 2001 and had a New Zealand-born child.

Yesterday, Mr Niusila sat with his 2-month-old boy dozing on his lap and told how he had been close to death and in terrible pain because of his kidney disease.

In a room darkened by yellow curtains hanging over the windows and pinned across the glass of a door, he said quietly that he felt better now after receiving dialysis.

Asked his reaction to the Government's decision, he said: "I say thank you to them. I'm happy."

Mrs Niusila said her husband's condition had dominated their lives, and it was great that he could continue treatment.

"It's a dream come true for me, for him to have the treatment."

Mr Niusila was first treated as an outpatient at Auckland Hospital in April last year for his kidney condition, which is caused by high blood pressure.

Dialysis was started last month, after he deteriorated.

His lawyer, Gowri Asiriah, said Mr Niusila would apply for permanent residency.

"He will probably need dialysis for the next couple of years. Once his treatment is under way, he should be able to start working. He won't be a burden on the system.

"If he can get a relative that can donate a kidney, he can have a transplant within a year."

A transplant costs about $65,000, and if successful can give the patient a normal lifespan. Dialysis costs up to $70,000 a year.