Her relatives from Tonga's outer islands would travel to the capital Nuku'alofa and stay with her family to access specialist healthcare at Vaiola Hospital, the only tertiary hospital in the country.
"In our small, poor home, they came to live with us because it's very expensive to go to and from where they live and it was very far," Afuha'amango Tuipulotu said.
It was on those early hospital visits where Tonga's future health minister became "intrigued".
