Rebecca's Story

Rebecca joined Watsi on September 19th, 2016. Seven years ago, Rebecca joined our Universal Fund, supporting life-changing treatments for a new Watsi patient every month. Rebecca's most recent donation supported Kyu, a high school teacher from Burma, to fund heart surgery.

Impact

Rebecca has funded healthcare for 90 patients in 9 countries.

Patients funded by Rebecca

Kyu is a 43-year-old teacher from Burma. She lives with her mother, husband, and two sons in Yangon Division, Burma. Kyu’s mother is retired, and her two sons are students. Kyu’s husband works as a motorcycle taxi driver. Kyu is a high school teacher who conducts classes from her home. Their combined monthly income is sufficient to cover their basic living expenses but they are not able to save money. When they have health issues, they rely on a nearby clinic for medical attention. In her free time, she enjoys reading books and she'd like to be able to continue teaching her students at home once she feels better. Kyu was born with an atrial septal defect (ASD), a condition in which a hole exists between the two upper chambers of the heart. Sometimes ASDs may close on their own during development, but sometimes this condition requires surgery to repair the hole and prevent long-term damage to the heart and lungs. Kyu is scheduled to undergo heart surgery on February 4th to correct the atrial septal defect and improve her quality of life. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1,500 to support the cost of Kyu's procedure and care. Kyu said “Since my heart condition worsened, I couldn’t teach my students due to my fatigue. Now I felt very happy when I learned that the BCMF organisation would support my surgery. Without the help of these donors, I couldn’t afford the treatment. I would like to be thankful to all donors and BCMF for supporting my surgery.”

$640raised
$860to go

Siek Meng is a 15-year-old who resides in the Prey Veng province of Cambodia with her parents and two younger brothers. Her parents make a living as rice farmers, and when Siek Meng returns home from school, she helps care for her siblings. During her free time, she enjoys learning English by watching English-language films and television shows. She aspires to pursue higher education in the capital of Phnom Penh and study medicine in the future. Around the age of 6, Siek Meng and her parents noticed something concerning about her back. However, they postponed seeking treatment until two years later due to the high cost of treatment and not considering it essential at that time. Unfortunately, the condition has since deteriorated, and she has been diagnosed with scoliosis, a deformity of the spine. In the past year, Siek Meng has experienced increased difficulty breathing as her rib cage presses on her lungs. Additionally, she occasionally feels numbness in her legs caused by her vertebrae compressing nerves. Thankfully, Siek Meng and her father undertook a challenging journey of two and a half hours to reach our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), seeking assistance for her disability. The medical team at CSC plans to perform a spinal fusion with implants on August 2nd, which requires financial support as the operation costs $1500. This amount will cover radiology, medications, surgery, and post-operative physiotherapy care. CSC is requesting $1500 to help fund this procedure for Siek Meng. Siek Meng shared, "I am feeling embarrassed about my back and I want to not have chest pain anymore. I hope after surgery I can go back to school and be able to walk around my village more easily."

$1,500raised
Fully funded

Denis is a 22-year-old motorbike driver - the third born in a family of six. His parents separated and now he lives with his mother. He shared that he dropped out of school in grade seven because his parents were not in a position to provide for all of them. His other siblings have been adopted by family members. Denis is single and is hoping to marry when he has a stable income. Currently, he is employed riding a motorbike as a taxi and his daily income is not always guaranteed. Denis needs to undergo surgery so that he can continue doing his normal activities and also reach his desired life of having a stable income and a family. When Denis visiting our medical partner's hospital, he was walking with a crutch and could not put any weight on his left leg. He had an x-ray film that showed a complete fracture of his left femur. His condition causes him pain and he is unable to continue with his work. Denis' family is not in a position to pay the medical fees, and his treatment will be a big financial burden to them. Fortunately, surgeons at our medical partner can help. On April 13, Denis will undergo a fracture repair procedure, called an open reduction and internal fixation. Denis needs to undergo surgery so that he can continue doing his normal activities and also reach his desired life of having a stable income and a family. Now, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is requesting $1145 to fund this procedure. Denis says, "It has been hard to carry out my normal duties. I really look forward to getting well so that I can fully depend on myself as before.”

$1,145raised
Fully funded