With no access to local cardiac surgery, young people in Timor-Leste face disability and premature death from treatable and often preventable heart conditions.
Timor-Leste Hearts Fund is Australia’s only medical NGO dedicated to providing life-saving heart surgery for young people from Timor-Leste. While Timor-Leste’s health system is improving all the tine, a lack of specialist facilities means overseas surgery is often the only option.
We assist patients with a variety of serious heart conditions and provide surgery for the most critical cases in Australia. Our patients often need relatively simple procedures to correct their heart conditions.
We also partner with the Timor-Leste Ministry of Health to train heart health professionals and build the capacity of the national Cardiac Centre to provide patient surgeries locally in future.
Nelsia’s Story
Every patient is special. But some truly capture our hearts. Three-year-old Nelsia is one of them.
Though her condition left her tired and breathless, Nelsia has a beautiful smile for everyone who meets her. Born with congenital heart disease, Nelsia’s early childhood was marked by poor health and low energy.
In March 2018, as part of Operation GoodHearts paediatric surgical mission, Nelsia received life-saving surgery to repair the hole in her heart. She is now able to enjoy a normal childhood, playing with her friends and siblings – always with that contagious smile on her face.
Without the surgery, Nelsia’s smile would have been extinguished and her life cut short. Now, her parents are excited for her future and are hopeful she will experience good health and go to school.