A Taranaki father-of-two wants answers after he was diagnosed with a mysterious flesh-eating disease.
Matt Ramsay's ordeal began after a minor cut, which rapidly lead to the spread of the disease.
Five months on and he's has lost four toes. It's left him permanently scarred and isolated from his wife and kids.
After multiple misdiagnoses he's decided not to pursue further treatment, opting instead to manage the condition himself.
"I had a biopsy at the start and it said that I had shingles, and then I had another biopsy and was told I had cancer, and then another one that said I had vasculitis," he says.
"I was just getting worse and worse and they were saying I was getting better but I wasn't losing my toes was the last part of it and I'd just had enough."
The lack of information from the health system has taken its toll on Mr Ramsay. He's suffered through unnecessary treatment and still doesn't know what the issue is.
"I'm really angry all the time. And I keeps saying I don't think my angers going to go until I get some type of answer," he says.
"Standing here now and you think of all the time you've lost and losing your job and all the time missed out with your family and stuff, it just makes me angry that no-one's answered me."
The Taranaki District Health Board has responded, saying "his clinical picture is complex".
"Mr Ramsay's illness has caused significant challenges for him and his family," it told The Project.
"Our Taranaki DHB clinical team are and will continue to work with Mr Ramsay to provide him with the best care possible."
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