Meet Mu, a 41-year-old woman who lives with her family in a remote village in Burma. She grows rice as a subsistence farmer with her husband, and also works as a day laborer if they need cash.
In 2016, Mu began experiencing troubling gynecological symptoms. Mu learned about Watsi's medical partner, Mae Tao Clinic (MTC), from her brother-in-law, who lives nearby. After spending three months saving money, Mu and her husband made the two-day trip to MTC, where she was diagnosed with an ovarian cyst. This small fluid filled sac usually does not have any symptoms, but if left untreated can lead to pain and other complications.
Since Mu has to pay for her 13-year-old son’s school fees, her family often struggles to make ends meet and cannot afford the surgery she needs to treat her condition. For $1,500, Mu will receive a total abdominal hysterectomy, during which doctors will surgically remove her uterus in order take out the cyst and ensure that it does not grow back again. The procedure is scheduled for August 15.
After recovery, Mu will be able to return home to her family and friends. "I hope that after I recover from surgery, I will be able to return to farming and take up waving again," Mu shares.