29/04/2023
😢😢. Felt your emotions there too Dr Chanoan as a parent. Thank you to the late Dr Leonard Kaupa and all the Papua New Guinean doctors involved to date. Thank you Operation Open Heart coordinator Russell Lee and Team. ♥️♥️♥️
In July 1996, I was a 13 year old breathless skinny 7th grader waiting at the Sir Buri Kidu Heart Institute with my parents Friday afternoon for the final assessment by the visiting specialist. I was diagnosed with Mitral valve stenosis in 1994 (Rheumatic Heart Disease). It was late afternoon when we were told we had to be in Goroka by that Sunday for surgery. Dad was a clerk and mum a secretary then at UPNG. It was the weekend and they had to find money for tickets. There were no mobiles, phone banking and online booking then. They sought out Mrs Hayfield, a Filipino Lecturer who became friends with mum and she assisted with tickets for Dad and I to fly out that Sunday. God bless her where ever she is today. 🙏🏽
I had my open heart surgery the next day - a mitral valvotomy where my very narrowed heart valve was widened to allow for more blood flow. Mum managed to fly in on the day of operation. I recovered well post surgery and returned to school a month later. My shortness of breath resolved and I started to gain weight.
God blessed me with two very strong resilient, loving and caring parents who have been my backbone throughout and whose faith have saved me many times.
In 2007 I graduated with a medical degree alongside my older (by 2 years) sister Cynthia with her degree in Commerce. It was a great family achievement, Mum and Dad threw us the biggest graduation party and we had significant relatives flown in from Wewak and Rabaul to celebrate with us. I had started my first year medical residency in Nonga General Hospital that year (2007), in August my sister was selected to undergo the same surgery by the OOH team. She was diagnosed at the end of her Grade 12. I received news late in the afternoon and early the next morning I turned up at the airport and bought my ticket for the first flight out. I slept in hospital with her before her surgery and when she came out of ICU. She recovered to go home but her symptoms weren't relieved.
In 2008 I self transferred myself back to Pomgen to complete my 2nd year residency, there wasn't accommodation for me but my best friends (the Late) Dr Regina Wangnapi and Del Mel offered me wardrobe and floor space in their little unit. They were 2 of the many sisters who were there for me when we lost Cynthia (27yrs old) to heart failure in September 2008. A year post surgery, it left me so broken. 💔❤ I lost my way back then but today I can truly say that God exists. Only through Him was I able to overcome the many trials that came my way even when my faith faltered. The triumphs were possible through Him our Mighty God.
I was blessed with two sons but my heart valve narrowed over the years that by 2021, I became more symptomatic and nearly collapsed by my patient's bedside during an oncall. That year I had to complete my research project and sit my Masters exam. God got me through and I graduated with my Masters in Child Health in 2022. I was started on medications and learned how to better manage my symptoms while awaiting a valve replacement surgery. I have my good and bad days but I have been able to continue work.
My family started a fundraising drive and through the many hearts that reached out, Professor Ferguson is one that is currently organising a referral to Australia for a valve replacement surgery that was quoted at K172, 000. Individual contributions and donations alone have raised up to K80,000. That to me is amazing and is God's hand at work. I am humbled and I am blessed and I know that He is not done. 🙏🏽♥️
