“I never knew what Rheumatic Heart Disease was until the day I had taken my son to the hospital and was told that my son was showing symptoms of Rheumatic Heart Disease.”
Those were the words Erini Tokarua the mother of nine-year-old Rheumatic Heart Disease patient Walter Tokarua during the Disease Prevention Workshop today.
Erini Tokarua says she did not know what to do as she believed that her son was normal and healthy.
Erini says she was informed that Walter needed to take his injection every four weeks for 20 to 30 years.
She says her son is 9-years-old and was just 4 when he was diagnosed.
1 in every 50 children aged 5 to 15 years suffer from Rheumatic Heart Disease in Fiji.
Rheumatic heart disease is a condition involving permanent damage to a person's heart caused by rheumatic fever.
The symptoms of rheumatic fever include red raised rashes usually on the chest, back, and abdomen, uncontrolled movements of arms, legs, or facial muscles, swollen, tender, red and extremely painful joints, weakness and shortness of breath, weight loss and fatigue.
Please take your children for a test if they have these symptoms.
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