Katea still hopeful of having second operation

The Tangifolau family are patiently waiting to hear whether they must leave New Zealand.

If their application for a two-year working visa is denied, they will be returning to Tonga on February 7.

Onna Tangifolau said if the application was accepted, it would be a step towards their daughter, Katea, receiving surgery on her club foot.

Katea was born with the congenital disorder and has already had two surgeries, one in Tonga and another in 2010 at Dunedin Hospital.

Katea's father Saia Tangifolau moved to Oamaru nearly five years ago.

"We haven't heard anything yet," she told the Oamaru Mail. "It will be February next week."

If deported, the family are worried their daughter's foot will not be treated.

Club foot is when the foot turns inward and downward.

Katea's club foot restricts her from day-to-day activities and she often wakes up crying because of the pain.

The cost of the surgery in Dunedin amounted to $11,700 and for the second operation to take place, the full amount of the first and a percentage of the second had to be paid.

On the eve of the second surgery, a financial adviser from Dunedin Hospital contacted the family and said the operation could not go ahead without the payment.

The operation in Tonga left Katea with a large scar and an infection in her foot, and Mrs Mrs Tangifolau is worried it will happen again if the procedure is not done in New Zealand.

"If it gets infected, she could lose her foot and I don't want that to happen," she said.

Tonga has the highest incidence of club foot in the world, with one baby in 100 born with the condition, and Mrs Tangifolau does not understand why the country does not have better facilities to deal with the condition.

Mrs Tangifolau said she has received support from people in America, Australia and Tonga, since the Oamaru Mail first printed an article last year.

"I'm doing my best," she said.

During the school holidays, Mrs Tangifolau said she was approached by a number of people in the streets, offering their support.

"We are still anxious," she said.

"The children have been asking when school starts."

Katea has been waking up in the middle of the night, crying due to the pain. "She falls over when she runs," she said.

Mrs Tangifolau said the family were remaining positive.