Two Fijian children have been given a new chance at life after undergoing successful heart surgeries at the Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital in Suva.

Two-year-old Avyaan Narayan and 13-year-old Aseri Navura underwent their procedures on September 1 and were discharged from the hospital today.

For the Sai Prema Foundation, the successful surgeries are more than medical procedures, with the organization describing the hospital as a facility that transforms the lives of children and their families.

“This facility is for the people. And the second word that comes to my mind is transformation. This facility is transformative. It’s transforming the people, it’s transforming the families,” the Sai Prema Trustee said.

Avyaan’s family travelled from Nadi to Suva as the two-year-old underwent medical assessments before receiving treatment.
His parent said the family was informed that a medical team from India would be in Fiji to carry out the procedures.

“When he was born, he had a medical condition. He was going for medical checkups. Then last week, I received a phone call that a medical team was coming to Fiji from India and they would be doing the procedures.”

For Aseri’s family, her discharge has brought relief after years of concern whenever she became unwell.

Her cousin said she was extremely happy when doctors confirmed Aseri could return home and immediately shared the news with family members.

She said Aseri is now looking forward to returning home and playing.

The successful procedures have given both families renewed hope as the children begin their recovery at home.

By: Vasiti Vose