Christchurch mother Toni Shields began planning her funeral when she thought she was going to die. Then came the call from the doctor with an embarrassing admission
A mother-of-two has endured a rollercoaster of emotions after doctors wrongly diagnosed her with cancer.
Christchurch woman. Toni Shields received the horror diagnosis on May 22 after going to the doctor to investigate a problem with her spleen.
The mother immediately thought of her two sons and began preparing for end-of-life care and even began organizing her funeral.
However, just a week later, Ms Shields’ plans came to a sudden halt after her doctor revealed that a mix-up had led to another patient’s files being sent to her.
Ms Shields initially discovered the heartbreaking news through her patient portal – similar to Australia’s My Health Record – and was told to see a doctor immediately.
A Christchurch mother-of-two, Tony Shields (pictured), has been given a new lease on life after being told her cancer diagnosis was the result of a mix-up between her and another patient
The file showed that the mother had a number of lumps in her liver, which were most likely cancer.
‘I went to the doctor and she sat me down and said, ‘Unfortunately, it’s more than likely you have cancer.’ That was a hard pill to swallow,” she told the newspaper NZ Herald.
Breaking the news to her two sons proved even more difficult, as her “broken” eldest child was “glued to the spot and just shriveled up.”
The distraught mother began looking for ways to help her transition to an untimely death, throwing away her old belongings because she “wouldn’t need them.”
“I wanted to kind of take pictures of my grandchildren’s age progression so I could see what they would look like when they were older,” she said.
Then came the call from her doctor.
“She was beside herself on the phone, she couldn’t believe this had happened,” Ms Shields said of her doctor.
“I’m like, ‘What?’ So I’m not going to die?’ She said, ‘No, you’re not going to die, Toni.’
Despite being given a new lease on life, the mother remains conflicted about the news after an ‘up and down’ week.
Although she was relieved to hear from the doctor that she was not suffering from cancer, Ms Sheilds said she felt for the patient on the other side of the accident.
“I’m angry and I want to know how this happened… I also feel so sorry for the person whose results these were,” she said.
‘I really feel for them. They will experience what I have experienced.
“Of course I have a happy ending, but she doesn’t.”
Mrs Shields said she first thought of her two sons (pictured) and grandchildren after receiving the shock diagnosis
A full breakdown of how the mix-up occurred was announced by Joanne Gibbs, Health New Zealand Interim group director Canterbury, who apologized to Ms Shields.
“We sincerely apologize that Toni has been misdiagnosed and have apologized for the significant stress we have caused both Toni and her family,” Ms Gibbs told the Herald.
‘It is extremely unusual for such a mistake to be made.
‘We will remain in contact with Toni as the investigation into this incident continues, and she is welcome to contact our Radiology team if she has any other questions or concerns.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Health NZ for comment.