The reason we do what we do…

In 2009, Ana* was incredibly sick with a complex form of rheumatic heart disease, and it was determined that she was too ill to be considered for surgery the last time we visited Tonga.

Her condition however improved somewhat while the team was operating on other patients. The improvement gave the team hope that she would be able to cope with complex and difficult surgery, and a decision made to push forward with her operation. Without it, complete heart failure would have been imminent for her.

Surgery went well and with two new valves in her heart, Ana’s new life had begun. Her ICU stay was also not without incident either, but with a great team of nurses to support she made a fantastic recovery.

Two years on, Ana yesterday returned to Vaiola Hospital for a different reason. Her family wanted to say thank you the only way they knew how – they prepared a meal for the entire Open Heart International team. It was an extravagant feast of some 30 dishes that covered both tables in the tea room and took the family 36 hours to cook up.

Now completing Year 11 at school, the difference in Ana is absolutely remarkable. She’s not sure what she would like to do after finishing school, but at the moment she is thinking about a career in nursing.

In an emotional speech to the team, she broke down in tears trying to express how thankful she was, and there weren’t many dry eyes in the room.

And that is quite simply, the reason we do what we do….

(*Name changed for privacy)