Photos: Christmas Islanders in Anchorage

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A doctors' fishing trip in Christmas Island leads one couple to an island heart clinic, and eventually Anchorage, Alaska, for medical care.

Robei Rutia never expected that when it came to saving her life, she'd have to make it all the way to Alaska, far from her home in the South Pacific. But when a lingering heart condition worsened and required surgery, a journey north gave her a new chance at good health.

Last month, Rutia, 24, had open heart surgery in Anchorage to repair two failing heart valves that left her increasingly bedridden and unable to walk more than a few steps -- the result of inadequate medical care at her home in Kiritimati, better known as Christmas Island, a coral atoll that was the site of atomic testing during World War II.

But with the help of a few Alaskans, Rutia is able to do much more than walk now.

Keep reading: Christmas Islanders find new life through the help of Alaskans