This is life changing

Vanuatu man thanks doc

AFTER a month in Geelong, Philipert Tavoa has returned home to Vanuatu a new man, and without the “time bomb” that was ticking inside his body.

Free of the kidney stones that were threatening his life and causing him constant pain, Mr Tavoa, 47, flew home with his wife Agnes this week.

Feeling fit, healthy and able to walk without pain for the first time in years, the father of three said the operation would change his life as he looked forward to resuming work as a maths teacher. “I feel much better,” he said.

Mr Tavoa was brought to Geelong for treatment by urologist Richard Grills, and had his kidney stones removed at St John of God Hospital before convalescing at nearby Annam Cara House.

Mr Grills said Mr Tavoa’s kidney stones, particularly the one blocking his left kidney, were a “ticking time bomb”, closing down the function of the organ and heightening the risk of infection.

But despite trying on two separate trips to Vanuatu, the surgeon was unable to remove them because of the rudimentary equipment available in that country.

“It was a potentially lethal condition if not fixed, and it can be fixed relatively simply here but there with great difficulty,” Mr Grills said. “It was slowly and steadily damaging his kidney, and he would have been at serious risk had that been an ongoing problem, but we managed to clear all the stones and fix the whole thing.”

Mr Grills has done eight annual trips to Vanuata on surgical aid missions, working pro bono on missions funded by the Australian Government.

Mr Tavoa was the first patient under his watch brought to Australia from the South Pacific nation for medical treatment.

Mr Grills praised St John of God Hospital, Lake Imaging and Annam Cara House for embracing the effort to help Mr Tavoa return to full health.

Mr Tavoa was also grateful, explaining that kidney stones had been troubling him for almost 20 years.

“Dr Richard is a very good man. I am thanking him,” Mr Tavoa said. “He organised everything. “We must thank him because he give his time to come to Vanuatu and help people.”