Family thanks heart team for saving daughter’s life

By JUNIOR UKAHA 
A family in Lae, Morobe, yesterday expressed their gratitude to the Operation Open Heart (OOH) team for saving the life of their daughter following a successful heart surgery in Port Moresby two weeks ago.
The Civil family, from Kerowagi, Chimbu, praised the OOH surgeons, support staff and financiers for saving the lives of many Papua New Guineans including their daughter Leonnie.
“On behalf of my family, I would like to express our sincere gratitude and thanks to our God and the Open Heart surgery team of cardiac specialists who have done an excellent job to give my daughter a chance to live a normal life,” said father Matthew Civil, an information technology specialist at the University of Technology.
“I would also like to extend my gratitude to the hardworking staff of the Angau Memorial Hospital’s children’s outpatient department for their guidance and initial preparatory works for the operation.
Leonnie, 13, was diagnosed with congenital heart disease when she was born and her condition deteriorated as she grew, affecting her growth and ability to do things normal children did.
She was examined at Angau Memorial Hospital last year and recommended for surgery. Leonnie, who is a grade four student at Taraka Primary School, left for Port Moresby General Hospital on Aug 8. Four days later, her heart defects were corrected by the cardiac surgeons from Operation Open Heart.