Hi, my name is Sarah Nguyen and I started as the Clinical Nurse Educator at Bear Cottage in July 2024. My background is in Neonatal (NICU) and Paediatric Intensive Care (PICU). In November 2024, I had the most amazing experience volunteering on a mission in Fiji. 

Up until two years ago, there were no paediatric cardiac services available anywhere in Fiji and the Pacific Islands, and overseas treatment was unaffordable for most families. Sai Prema is a foundation that identified this area of great need and had embarked on a mission to save the lives of hundreds and thousands of children in Fiji and the Pacific by providing free heart surgeries. So far, 332 children have been given free heart surgeries in Fiji. 

With the help of an organisation called Healing Little Hearts in the UK, they funded for an international team of cardiac surgeons, perfusionist, cardiologist, anaesthetists, paediatric intensivists, anaesthetic, scrub and paediatric intensive care nurses to come help treat and care for the children.

 During our mission, we did 19 surgeries over nine days. 

I looked after the children after their surgery and during their recovery period. The PICU team consisted of 10 nurses. Eight of us were from Australia (Brisbane, Sydney and Victoria) and two local Fijian PICU nurses. 

The biggest thing I noticed about my experience compared to Australia was the lack of resources that we had available. In Fiji we had to consider what we had to work with, what we were using, consider if we had enough, and be creative with what we had and the solutions we came up with. The children were so sweet and resilient, and their families so grateful. To think that over two years ago, there was no treatment or solution for these families. 

The parents were so thankful for our time and help. We brought over toys donated by Bear Cottage, and the kids’ eyes just immediately lit up. They really loved and enjoyed playing with the toys during such a challenging time in their life. When I went to visit on the ward, some were still dragging their toys along everywhere they went. For some, it was the first toy they had ever received. It was a humbling experience and I am so incredibly grateful to have been part of this one of a kind experience.