Soksomaly is a 19-year-old college student from Cambodia. She is a hotel and tourism student and hopes to become a translator in the future.
Five years ago, Soksomaly had an ear infection. This infection caused a cholesteatoma, or an abnormal skin growth, to develop in the middle ear behind the ear drum. For this reason, Soksomaly experiences headaches, hearing loss, discharge, and itchiness. It is difficult for her to hear, and she often experiences difficulty communicating with others.
Soksomaly traveled to our medical partner's care center to receive treatment. On May 3, she will undergo a mastoidectomy procedure in her left ear. During this procedure, ENT surgeons will remove the cholesteatoma. Our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, is requesting $842 to fund this procedure. This covers medications, supplies, and inpatient care.
She says, "I hope that this operation will allow me to hear properly and for the infection and discharge to stop."