Early heart screening helped 4-year-old Emosi Tabu secure a brand new lease of life, thanks to a free heart surgery at the Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital in Nasese, Suva last week.
His mother, Ana Suraki is urging other parents to seek medical advice and get their children screen early.
Suraki said she first came to know of her son’s heart condition when he was one and a half years old.
“He started to have breathing problems and that’s when we were told that he has a hole in the heart.”
“The doctors said the hole would close as he grows older and they gave us review dates whenever we went for check-up.”
“The trend continued but just in March this year, more frequently he started to have breathing problems and that’s when my husband said we needed to see a private doctor even though we knew it would cost us financially.”
The 33-year-old said the private doctor advised the family to take the child to the Sai Prema Foundation for screening and that’s where they found out he need immediate medical attention.
“Hearing from the doctors at the foundation that my son still has a hole in the heart and it’s causing him so much pain was very painful and disheartening for me as a mother.”
“The first thing the doctors asked me after the screening was why I didn’t think of bringing him to the foundation earlier when the breathing problem started.”
“I can’t imagine how much suffocation he underwent these years in breathing. It was very painful to hear that if he didn’t get immediate surgery, God knows what could have happened next.”
“I was scared to get him admitted here because he is my only child and I couldn’t lose him at any cost. I was very nervous the day I brought him for the surgery but the doctors told me how the procedure will be and that eased me a little.
The Khalsa Road in Nasinu resident added that she is thankful to the surgeons and the foundation for the Gift of Life she received this week.
“My husband is a taxi driver and I work at Mindpearl so we don’t know if we’d be able to collect money for overseas treatment.”
“For us these surgeons and the foundation itself is like God serving mankind. We are blessed to have our son operated here and we pray for the hands that saved our sons life.”
“My message to all families is don’t be scared. Just have your children screened because it will save precious lives. It’s free of charge and the most pleasing part is that the doctors and nurses here are very friendly.”
“I also received a lot of mental and emotional support from the foundation while they assured me that my son’s operation will be successful,” she added.
Meanwhile, a total of 18 surgeries were conducted at the hospital this month.
