Twenty-six-year-old Matt Johnson was a promising young rugby player, his talents already evident while studying at Auckland’s St Peter’s College.
But that’s been stunted because of rheumatic fever. Now, he wants to raise awareness about the disease.
Rheumatic fever thrives in cold, damp and overcrowded houses. It disproportionately affects Māori and Pacific children aged four to 19 years old, especially if they have other family members who have had it.
Mr Johnson said his house was warm and clean, and he most probably got rheumatic fever from strep throat.
If the strep throat is treated quickly, then it most likely won't turn into acute rheumatic fever.
Unluckily for Mr Johnson, it wasn't picked up until a doctor noticed a heart murmur after he'd taken a knock in a rugby game.
At age 13, he was told he needed major surgery - an aortic valve replacement. His doctors warned he’d never play rugby again.
“That was probably the toughest year as a young kid,” Mr Johnson said.
But within a year and with his doctor’s permission, he was back playing rugby at a high level. He made it to the Blues Super Rugby Squad in 2018.
Mr Johnson said he had always wanted to make the All Blacks.
“But, with my health issues, I just wanted to at least play Super Rugby.”
However just months later, his replacement heart valve started to leak. He had another major operation to get another valve.
By the next season, and again with his doctor’s permission, he was back on the field to try and make the Blues again. Doctors then discovered bacteria had latched onto his new heart valve.
“They had to clear out the bacteria … and they found out that the stent had lodged itself into the heart, which was stabbing my heart at the same time.”
Mr Johnson went under the knife for a third time. Surgeons couldn’t get his heart off the bypass, and Mr Johnson was placed into a coma for six days.
His new mechanical heart valve meant his rugby playing days were over.
“I still wish I was out there, but yeah, everything happens for a reason and I'm still grateful I'm here,” he said.
Rheumatic fever, a third world disease that New Zealand just can't seem to rid itself of, is up again in one of the country’s most vulnerable communities.
Worryingly, in Porirua East, frontline health workers are seeking a spike in cases.
Watch Sunday's full report in the video above.
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