Anastacia GutierrezUNIVERSAL FUND MEMBER

United States
Anastacia's Story

Anastacia joined Watsi on December 5th, 2015. Eleven years ago, Anastacia joined our Universal Fund, supporting life-changing treatments for a new Watsi patient every month. Anastacia's most recent donation traveled 9,000 miles to support Monica, a mother of two from Malawi, to fund a hysterectomy.

Impact

Anastacia has funded healthcare for 126 patients in 14 countries.

Patients funded by Anastacia

Thu Zar is an 18-year-old young woman from Burma. She lives with her parents, one older brother, and one older sister in a village in Karen State. Thu Zar’s parents work as farmers, and both her brother and sister help with the family farm work . Thu Zar also helps the family with farm work. The family mainly relies on growing crops and selling some of the surplus. One of her sisters, who lives in Bangkok and works as a waitress, sends 3,000 THB per month to support the family. Their combined family income is sufficient for their daily expenses but cannot afford expensive treatment costs like surgery. In early of August 2020, Thu Zar noticed a swelling on the left side of her neck. At that time the swelling was small so that she didn't take it seriously. Over time, the mass gradually increased in size and she decided to seek treatment at the local hospital. When it did not help, she finally traveled to Thailand in June 2025 to seek care. She underwent some investigations at our medical partner's care hospital, Mae Sot Hospital, and the doctor recommended surgery to remove the mass. Currently, Thu Zar continues to experience mild pain and redness on the left side of her neck. The swelling keeps slowly growing which gets her worried about her future. She cannot sleep at night and is eating less because of the pain. Fortunately, Thu Zar sought treatment through our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF). She is scheduled to undergo mass removal surgery on October 15th. Our medical partner is requesting $1,500 to cover the total cost of her procedure and care. When Thu Zar learnt that there would be donors that would support her treatment costs, she was overjoyed. Expressing her deepest gratitude, she said: “Thank you so much to the organization BCMF and all the donors who are willing to help me with the treatment cost. Without your assistance, it would be impossible to undergo surgery. I hope to return home to help my family with farm work after surgery. Let me say that again, thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for helping me with treatment costs.”

$1,500raised
Fully funded