Ilisapeci Waqalala says the surgeons at the Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Medical Centre mean no less than God to her family.
She made the comment after a successful cardiac surgery of her four-year-old son Ratu Joji Tupoula’hi Taufa Cocker who was diagnosed with Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) a year ago.
“My son had short breath so we took him to the hospital and the doctors could not determine the reason. At first we thought it was due to the cold because our house is located near the sea. Later he started to suffer from short breath more frequently and then we rushed to the Labasa hospital. They checked him there and we were told about the ASD.”
The 29-year-old left her home in Wavu village in Savusavu last week with the hope that Crocker will be able to live a normal life as her 10-year-old daughter.
“It was a tough situation for us because we are just a family of four. My daughter is in Year five and my husband is a farmer. We had to spend a lot of time with my son knowing what he is going through. My family and relatives told us about the surgery overseas and we started to collect money. There was not much help coming.”
“But God had other plans, sending over the Sai Prema team to echo in Labasa. That’s when we saw a ray of light because financially we were very low. We were nervous to meet the Sai Prema team there because we thought they would charge and after the echo they gave us a date. When we got to know the echo and surgery was free, we were relieved.”
Waqalala added that seeing her child enter the operation theater was her biggest fear but she has thanked the surgeons for the successful operation.
“I got nervous because my son is very young and I’ve never kept him away from me. I had to stay mentally strong and have faith in the doctors because they explained to me the entire surgery process. The hours he was under operation, I was not only praying to God but also to the surgeons who put their education at the forefront of my son’s life.”
“It’s a healing journey for my family and it has been possible through these surgeons who are no less than a God to our family. We are thankful to each and every member of this hospital. My advice to parents is to get your child’s echo done at the earliest because the doctors at this hospital are God,” an emotional Waqalala said.
Meanwhile, a team of 35 medical staff arrived from the Heart Foundation in New Zealand and have operated on 11 children in the last eight days while four more surgeries will be done by Friday.
