Before long the 25-year-old was in Dunedin Hospital being told she’d had a stroke and would lose her vision in the affected eye forever. Justin: ‘‘She’s a fantastic employee, a massive asset to our business, you can’t teach a smile like Essi’s, it’s infectious. Lehtonen’s overwhelmed and grateful for the support — she had no income aside from the wage subsidy and no entitlement to ACC or health insurance. After a lengthy wait, caused by the pandemic, Lehtonen finally had heart surgery on August 18 and returned to work this week. ‘‘She can’t really relax until she sees me — but I have my Queenstown family and I’m so lucky to have them.’’matthew.mckew@scene.co.nz

Source: Otago Daily Times September 04, 2020 04:30 UTC