A mother who up until last year thought her child was perfectly healthy is today thanking the Australian Heart Team for giving her child a guarantee of a healthier future.

Twelve year old Vasiti Namata is one of the 44 patients who has undergone open heart surgery by the visiting Sydney Adventist Hospital Heart team at the CWM Hospital, and according to her mother Losalini Namata her condition was only diagnosed last year after a team visited her school to carry out medical checks.

Namata said it was a shock for her family as Vasiti was a healthy child and they never expected to hear the news that she had a heart problem, after which she was referred to the relevant medical specialists for treatment. She added asking Vasiti to go through with the surgery was tough as she was young and scared.

She said in the end the family had to agree to going through with the surgery for the sake of her daughter’s future.