Christian Iona's rheumatic heart disease

My son Christian Iona is 12 years old. On the 17th of January 2021, he was admitted under the Paediatric Ward with severe bilateral pneumonia, hypoxaemia and rheumatic heart disease. After echo done my one of the doctors it showed thickened mitral valve leaflets which caused moderated severe MR.

He was discharged on the 25th of January and started on monthly IM Penicillin. In May 2021, he was getting more and more unwell. There is an increase of breathlessness when he walks from up to 50meters, increasing tiredness and sleepiness during the day, numbness in his legs if he walks for more than 50 meters, reduced appetite and weight loss, abdominal fullness.

As a desperate and worried mother, I went for a second opinion from one of our heart specialist Dr Satupaitea Viali.

After his echo done by Dr Satu, he recommended that Christian needs URGENT cardiac operation (MV Repair + TV Annuloplasty. The current echo shows severe heart disease with severe MR with severe Hypertension from a badly flailed PMVL.

He also said that early surgery will lead to improve long-term survival outlook and it will never be cured by monthly Penicillin.

At the moment, we are still waiting in Samoa for heart surgeons ok from New Zealand so we can bring him to do his operation.

My cousin Asenati Semau lives in New Zealand and is helping us with fundraising through Givealittle