Fiji Heats 4 Kids Trust 2023

I am thrilled to share with you my recent experience with the Hearts4Kids Trust medical mission in Fiji. For five days, our team of skilled medical professionals from New Zealand worked tirelessly to perform 13 successful heart surgeries on children with a range of conditions.

The Hearts4Kids Trust is a volunteer medical team that provides free-of-charge lifesaving services to paediatric patients born with congenital heart disease. They aim to treat children with congenital and rheumatic heart disease who would not otherwise have access to surgery, due to being too unwell to travel to an overseas facility or without the resources to be transferred. This was their sixth visit to Fiji since 2014, and we were proud to be part of their efforts to improve the lives of children with heart conditions.

Our team consisted of 38 volunteers, including one paediatric cardiac surgeon, two paediatric cardiologists, one cardiac surgical registrar, two anaesthetists, one anaesthetic registrar, one intensivist, one perfusionist, two anaesthetic technicians, four theatre nurses, ten PICU nurses, eight ward nurses, one clinic nurse for admissions/pre-op/discharge, one mission coordinator, and three support volunteers.

The children we treated were between the ages of 4 months to 12 years old and had a variety of heart conditions. Some had been in and out of the hospital with chest infections or heart failure, while others had limited exercise tolerance for years. It was heart-wrenching to see the conditions these children were living with, but also heartwarming to know that we were able to provide them with the care they needed.

By 6th March, all the children had recovered well enough to be discharged, and some were having a daily clinic check, physiotherapy, and dietary input ongoing. Dr Maryanne Koraai (CWM), Helen Bailey (Sanjeevani Nurse Manager), and the local team were closely involved in the Final Rounds and checks to ensure continuity of care. The paediatric team also gained bedside teaching from the specific cases and their particular issues.

Thanks to the dedication and expertise of the medical team, all of the operations were completed without complications. The only issue was during the mitral valve surgery, where a 12-year-old boy had some difficulty at the end of the procedure. However, the team acted quickly and were able to successfully address the problem, and the boy made a steady recovery afterward.

Overall, this was an incredible effort from everyone involved, and I feel immensely grateful to have been a part of it. Witnessing the transformation of these children's lives was an unforgettable experience. The Hearts4Kids Trust medical mission is making a real difference in the lives of children in Fiji who would otherwise not have access to the medical care they need. It warms my heart to see the positive impact that such initiatives can have on these communities. I'm thrilled to be able to share this heartwarming news with you, and I look forward to seeing the impact that future medical missions will have.