Mark's Story

Mark joined Watsi on May 3rd, 2016. Six years ago, Mark joined our Universal Fund, supporting life-changing treatments for a new Watsi patient every month. Mark's most recent donation supported Regina, a middle-aged farmer from Kenya, to fund a mastectomy to fight her breast cancer.

Impact

Mark has funded healthcare for 427 patients in 13 countries.

patients you have funded

Ibrahim is a new baby from Kenya and the youngest of three children. He lives with his family in their ancestral home. Ibrahim's mother had to stop working to take care of him, and his father makes ends meet by working casual labour jobs in addition to his small income from their farm. Their family does not have medical insurance. Ibrahim was diagnosed with hydrocephalus at birth. His parents took him to six different hospitals, but were not able to get his condition cured. They shared that they ran out of money and stopped going to hospitals for some time. After gathering more funds, Ibrahim's father took him to a private hospital, where the doctor referred him to our medical partner's care center BethanyKids Hospital and gave them money to pay for their travel to BethanyKids. Ibrahim has been diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a condition in which excess cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the brain and increases intracranial pressure. As a result of his condition, Ibrahim has been experiencing an unusually large head. Without treatment, Ibrahim will experience severe physical and developmental delays. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $720 to cover the cost of surgery for Ibrahim that will treat his hydrocephalus. The procedure is scheduled to take place on October 19th and will drain the excess fluid from Ibrahim's brain. This will reduce intracranial pressure and greatly improve his quality of life. With proper treatment, Ibrahim will hopefully develop into a strong, healthy young boy. Meanwhile, Ibrahim and his mother are being housed in our partners’ patient house in Nairobi as they await the surgery date. Ibrahim’s father says, “It has been very hard for us since Ibrahim was born as we have not been able to take care of our other children. We are really looking forward to when he will be treated for us to have some peace of mind.”

$720raised
Fully funded

Bizuayehu is a beautiful and cheerful girl from Ethiopia who loves to talk and play with her mother. She asks a lot of questions and she is eager to learn about things. She especially loves dolls. Her mother washes clothes and makes injera (a traditional Ethiopian food) for a living. Bizuayehu's father abandoned her mother when she was pregnant. She shared that there was a time when she couldn’t pay for her rent and was out in the streets for several months. This led to malnutrition for both of them but they were able to recover with help from the hospital's nutrition program. She is now living on her very limited income from making injera and washing people’s clothes in the neighborhood, and with support from another organization. Since birth, Bizuayehu has had a bilateral inguinal hernia. The bulge is usually visible when she cries, coughs or strains. She also gets irritable and has reduced appetite. Fortunately there is a cure and on October 6th, she will undergo hernia repair surgery at our medical partner's care center. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $591 to fund Bizuayehu's surgery. Once completed, this procedure will hopefully allow her to live more comfortably and confidently. Bizuayehu's mother says, “Once my child gets better and cured she can join a daycare and I can do a better job to earn a better income. And I hope she will do well at school. I would like to thank BKMCM for all the support I got. I would also like also to thank our donors for this surgery. I don’t know what I could do if it was not for you and all the people at different times who supported me and encouraged me. I have been supported and gone through so many challenges, but I have had people by my side. I am thankful to God for this blessing.”

$591raised
Fully funded