Kimiko Robinson, the 12-year-old young lady from St Mary who is in dire need of open heart surgery in the United States of America, is set to leave the island today for the Le Bonheur Children's Medical Centre in Memphis.

The youngster and her mother were on Monday granted visas to travel to the States but not without the altruistic donations of the Jamaican public and the Diaspora.

Speaking with THE STAR yesterday, the youngster's chirpy voice almost belied the graveness of her situation.

big thank you

"My mother told me I'm going away to get surgery done," Kimiko said. "I'm excited and I'm worried. I'm both worried and excited at the same time." The young lady continued: "I am happy that I got help so I can go and do the surgery. I want to tell Jamaica a big thank you."

Last week THE STAR highlighted young lady dilemma after rheumatic fever severely damaged her heart.

Dr William Foster, her cardiologist, told this newspaper that specialists in the States, Dr Omar Boston and the Le Bonheur hospital had opted to do the operation voluntarily.

However Foster said $28,000 was needed to offset the interviewing/processing costs of visas at the embassy for both Kimiko and her mother who would be accompanying her on the trip. There was also an estimated US$250 that was needed for accommodation on the trip and airfare to the tune of $55,000 each, large sums that the child's family could not afford.

Days after the report was published in THE STAR however, Dr Foster contacted the newspaper thankfully relating that the expense for the trip was now covered due to donations received after the paper broke the news.