A SERBIAN woman who designed Redlands Primary Care’s heart-shaped logo after her son had open-heart surgery in the UK as a baby has visited the Crediton GP surgery to see it for the first time.

Sandra Bu’s son Leon was born with a double hole in his heart in 1996 during the Yugoslav Wars.

The prognosis was bleak, but an aid worker from the UK called Antony Mahony sent Leon’s diagnosis to David Seddon, a friend living in Crediton and working at Exeter School.

“Things were quickly set in motion: a local GP [Peter Twomey] was consulted and lent his support,” said a Redlands Primary Care spokesperson.

“David, Guy Wilson, their colleagues and pupils from the school raised funds for the operation along with a huge contribution from the people of Bristol where the operation on his heart was successfully performed.”

Later, in 2020, Mrs Bu was invited to design the logo and typography for the new Redlands GP surgery.

The logo is in the shape of a heart and depicts the ploughed fields of Devon’s red soil with a bird flying overhead.

Mrs Bu and her family, including her son Leon, who is now 30 years old and in the best of health, paid a visit to the Crediton GP surgery on Thursday, April 30 and saw the logo in situ for the first time.

“[It was] a proud moment and a reminder of the support given by those in Devon to a family in crisis and the return gift of a special logo for Redlands,” the spokesperson continued.

“The logo is now visible to all who come to Redlands and used throughout the building.”

Redlands provides NHS primary care services to more than 17,000 patients in Crediton and Thorverton. Its Crediton surgery can be found on Joseph Locke Way.