Tin was born via normal delivery at Mae Tao Clinic (MTC) in Thailand on July 16th, 2016. After her birth, doctors discovered that she has a large teratoma—a benign tumor that contains cells that can grow hair, teeth, or nails—protruding from her groin. The teratoma is about half the baby’s body size. Baby Tin is able to urinate and pass waste, but her breathing is labored, and her heartbeat has lowered slightly because her body is under the strain of having to pump blood and oxygen in and out of the large teratoma.
Since two months before Tin’s birth, her mother has been living at Social Action for Women (SAW), an organization in Mae Sot, Thailand, that helps women in need. When she arrived at SAW, she traveled to MTC with a medic who works at the clinic because she thought she had a mass in her abdomen. There, she learned that she was seven months pregnant. She did not know that Tin had a large growth on her body until she was born.
Tin will need surgery to remove the teratoma so that she can grow and develop normally. Unfortunately, Tin’s mother has no income and no family support. She receives a small stipend from SAW to cover minor expenses, and she sleeps and eats for free at SAW’s safe house.
MTC referred Tin to Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF) for surgical care. $1500 pays for surgery to remove the teratoma from Tin’s body as well as transportation to and from the hospital, pre- and post-surgical consults, and 40 days of hospital care, including lab tests, imaging, medicine, and food for Tin and her mother.
Let’s help fund surgery for Baby Tin!