Chantha loves cooking and spending time at home with her husband and seven children. But for some time now, the 56-year-old Cambodian woman has struggled to hear the voices of those loved ones. “I can’t hear people that well,” she shares, “so it is hard to communicate with others.”
Chantha’s hearing has been deteriorating for decades now. “Chantha had otitis media, an ear infection, in both ears when she was 8 years old,” reports our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC). The infection eventually caused a rupture in Chantha’s right eardrum, and “over time she lost hearing in that ear. She also still experiences pain and recurrent discharge,” says CSC. Chantha explains, “Sometimes I can’t do my work because of the pain.”
Fortunately, though, Chantha’s pain and hearing loss do not have to be permanent. For $399, we can sponsor the myringoplasty surgery that she needs. In this procedure, doctors will seal the hole in her eardrum with a graft. The requested funding will also cover the post-operative medication and hospital stay Chantha will need to recuperate from the procedure.
“I hope after the operation my mother’s ear discharge stops, and she has good hearing and health,” Chantha’s son tells us. Let’s help make that hope a reality for this family and their mother.