By Mitchell Hageman of 
Robyne and Eugene Te Whaiti say they don’t want anyone else to go through what their family went through after losing their son Te Arani Anthony Munro-Campbell to influenza. Photo: NZ Herald / Mitchell Hageman
A young Hawke's Bay man's life was tragically cut short by Influenza A two weeks ago. His brave mother and father, who were also hit by the illness as it spread through their whānau home, are speaking out to stop others taking the flu lightly.
Te Arani Anthony Munro-Campbell, known as "Uncle Demon" to his adoring nephews, was a softly-spoken 27-year-old who loved his family.
"He had a beautiful heart; he was so good to kids," Robyne Te Whaiti said of her son.
A selection of toy race cars sits on top of the box containing his ashes at the family home in Flaxmere, put there by the young people who loved him as a testament to his impact.
"This morning, our mokos said, 'Can we go to where Uncle Demon is? I miss him, Nan'.
"That hurt us."
Munro-Campbell died two weeks ago at home, just days after contracting Influenza A that swept through the family home. His death occurred while his mother lay in intensive care in Hawke's Bay Hospital with the same strain of the illness.
"I went downhill when I found out my son had died," Te Whaiti said.
"I almost lost my life that day; my heart rate went through the roof."
Influenza has three types that affect humans: A, B and C. Influenza A and B viruses regularly circulate and cause seasonal epidemics, most commonly in winter.
It was Te Whaiti's husband Eugene who got sick first.
"He was off work for a couple of days, and then on Friday of that week, I took him to the hospital," she said.
"We were at the hospital for so long, and I started feeling cold and getting sick, too.
"Eugene was tested for Influenza A and then got given medication.
"Come Saturday, he started to come a bit better, but then I went down and our boy went down the same day.
"On Sunday, Te Arani was really sick and his father took him to the hospital, and he tested positive as well."
By Monday, Te Whaiti was struggling to breathe, move and look at lights. She was soon taken into intensive care.
"When we went outside, I couldn't even see. By the time we got to the hospital, I couldn't even get out of the truck and had to use a wheelchair. Within an hour and a half, I was in intensive care.
"It was really bad, I felt like someone was suffocating me.
"It's two weeks now, and I still feel really sick. Not only has it given me lesions on my lungs, but it's also done damage to my heart."
Meanwhile, Munro-Campbell told his family he felt a bit better on Sunday night after having been on an IV.
But at home, his health rapidly declined over the next few days. He started to have trouble breathing and his father Eugene urged him to let him take him to hospital again.
"He said, 'Nah, I'll be alright, Dad'."
Tuesday and Wednesday saw him get progressively worse, and soon after, he succumbed at home to what doctors told the family was pneumonia brought on by the influenza.
"I've had the flu, we've all had the flu, but this is another dimension. Imagine what my poor son was going through," Te Whaiti said.
She pleaded with people to know the signs of deteriorating Influenza A and urgently seek help, even if they thought they could power through.
"I lost my baby through this. He didn't need to die.
"If the awareness was out there and if he knew ... the repercussions of what could happen to him, I think he would've gone to the hospital again."
Munro-Campbell and his family were not vaccinated against flu this year. This year was the first time she and her husband had forgotten, Te Whaiti said.
She said a lack of understanding of the potential severity of the flu on young people likely led to her son not getting or delaying his vaccine.
"You know what young boys are like. It wasn't that he didn't believe in [the vaccine]. He made sure his father and I were vaccinated because, 'You fellas are old'."
Dr Bridget Wilson, medical officer of health, National Public Health Service, said the death of any loved one to influenza was a tragedy and she extended sympathies to the whānau.
She said influenza changes often, meaning the vaccine has to be tweaked each year to match the new strains of the disease.
"Getting a flu vaccine every year means you have the best protection."
Those at highest risk of severe influenza include the very young, the elderly, pregnant women, those with co-morbid conditions, people from low-income groups, and Pacific and Māori ethnic groups.
"The flu vaccine is available from April 1 each year before winter starts. We recommend everyone over six months old gets immunised against flu every year," Wilson said.
"The 2024 flu vaccine is free for some people, including if you're 65 and over, people aged six months and over who have a long-term medical condition, pregnant people, tamariki (children) aged four years and under who have been hospitalised for respiratory illness, or have a history of significant respiratory illness, people with mental health conditions and people currently accessing secondary or tertiary mental health and addiction services."
Te Whaiti said while it wasn't her place to tell people to get vaccinated, she wanted to raise awareness of the potentially horrific impacts of the flu on whānau.
"I want people to understand it's not something you take with a grain of salt. If you're really sick, go to the doctor. If you can't breathe, go to the doctor."
- This story was first published by NZ Herald.
