The Arrival of a Well Polished Machine

Last night we warmly welcomed 28 more members of the Tonga team who flew in from Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, and even Alice Springs.

Following a few hours snooze, everyone assembled at the hospital this morning for the first time. The first of many Tongan sized meals greated the team along with traditional lei’s, a welcome prayer and hymn by the Hospital Superintendent and staff.

180 boxes might seem like an overwhelming task to unpack, however as they say “many hands make light work” and the bulk of the work was done within a few hours. From frieght and boxes, to a ready and waiting cardiac surgery unit in under 5 hours, certainly the well polished machine knows how to make it happen.

While the unpacking was going on, the Australian and Tongan doctors met to review the screening work that had been completed over the past 3 days. The list of hopefuls were thoroughly reviewed. For some they can wait, for others unfortunately it is too late. Thankfully there are more in the first category that will be monitored over the next 12-24 months, and will be scheduled for surgery perhaps on our next visit.

12 paediatic patients and 18 adults have been selected for surgery over the next two weeks. No sooner had the decision been made, and it was time to operate, with three cases scheduled for this afternoon.

Our cheeky friend, James is case number 1 – his PDA (hole in the heart) will be repaired by Dr. Ian Nicholson in the next hour.