Myint is a 14-year-old boy from Burma. He lives with his family in a small village, where his father owns a rubber plantation. Myint’s father and brother work on the plantation and his mother stays home to care for him.
When Myint was two months old, his mother noticed that tips of his fingers were turning blue. She gave him different traditional medicines but nothing seemed to help. Growing up, Myint was physically weak, often tired, and struggled to stand up for more than five minutes. He has not been able to attend school for some time now.
Recently, Myint’s mother took him to a hospital, where he received a chest x-ray and an echocardiogram. Doctors diagnosed him with Tetralogy of Fallot and dextrocardia. Tetralogy of Fallot means that there is a hole between the lower chambers of the heart, an obstruction from the heart to the lungs, an incorrectly placed aorta, and an overly thick heart muscle. Dextrocardia means that his heart points to the right instead of the left. Surgery has been recommended.
Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1,500 to fund Myint’s treatment. He is scheduled for surgery at our medical partner’s care center, Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital, on October 6. After treatment he will be able to return to school.