Mu is a 35-year-old woman from Burma. She lives with her husband and three daughters in Aung Hlaing Village in Karen State of Burma. Mu and her husband are farmers, but they do not own any land. She works on her mother-in-law’s land in exchange for 50 tin of harvest rice (approx. 1500 kg) each year. Occasionally, Mu’s husband works as a day laborer on others’ farms too.
Four months ago, Mu started to experience blurry vision in her left eye. At that time, she did not think it could be serious, and did not see a doctor. One and half months later, she decided to see a doctor as her vision did not improve. She went to Hpa-An Private Clinic where the doctor examined her eye with an instrument. The doctor told her that there was nothing wrong with her eye but could not tell her why she had blurry vision. The doctor gave her a bottle of eye drops which did not make her vision any better. However, she continued to use the eye drops for a month. Two months after she first experienced blurry vision in her left eye, Mu’s also developed blurry vision in her right eye. The doctor at Mae Sot Hospital recommended a CT scan to rule out the possibility of a brain tumor.
Doctors want Mu to undergo a CT scan, a procedure in which x-ray images taken from several angles are combined to produce cross-sectional images of the body. This scan will hopefully help doctors diagnose her condition and formulate an appropriate treatment plan.
Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $414 to cover the cost of Mu’s CT scan and care, scheduled for February 4th.
Mu said, “I feel very stressed that I have to suffer like this. I don’t know whether the doctor will be able to treat me. As my children are still young, if I don’t heal, I don’t know what to do or how I will take care of them [my children].”