Joseph J. SchmidUNIVERSAL FUND MEMBER
Joseph's Story

Joseph joined Watsi on September 19th, 2016. Seven years ago, Joseph joined our Universal Fund, supporting life-changing treatments for a new Watsi patient every month. Joseph's most recent donation supported Thaw, a 2-year-old toddler from Burma, to fund colostomy surgery.

Impact

Joseph has funded healthcare for 90 patients in 12 countries.

Patients funded by Joseph

Thaw is a two-year-old boy from Burma. He lives with his parents and elder sister in Zee Kone Village, but his family migrated to Thailand four months ago to seek better job opportunities. His father works as an agricultural day labourer, while his mother is a homemaker. Thaw’s elder brother and sister take turns working as agricultural day labourers. Thaw’s mother carefully manages their income, and their combined family income is enough to cover their daily basic expenses. Thaw receives free healthcare services at Mae Tao Clinic (MTC). On 2 July 2021, Thaw was born through emergency caesarean section. His mother noticed on the following day, while cleaning Thaw’s body, that he was born with a worrying condition that makes it challenging to go to the bathroom. Thaw’s mother immediately informed the doctor, who then referred Thaw to hospital in Ayeyarwady Division. Unfortunately, due to a lack of facilities, he did not receive the necessary treatment at this hospital. He was subsequently recommended to go to Yangon Hospital. However, due to financial limitations, Thaw’s mother could not afford to take him to Yangon Hospital, leading her to cease efforts to seek Thaw’s treatment. Fortunately, Thaw was able to defecate through a fistula however Thaw began to experience troubling symptoms, including at present, Thaw is passing stool through the fistula, experiencing constipation with bowel movements occurring every four or five days, with a distended abdomen. Thaw has been diagnosed with imperforate anus with fistula and his doctors recommend a colostomy. A colostomy is a surgery that creates an opening for the colon through the abdomen. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1500 to fund Thaw's surgery at Mae Sot General Hospital scheduled January 31st. Once completed, this procedure will hopefully alleviate him symptoms. Thaw’s mother expressed her concerns saying, “I want my son to have a healthy, long life. I was always worried about him, and he couldn’t receive treatment due to lack of money. Now, with the help of BCMF and donors, he can undergo surgery. Thank you."

$628raised
$872to go

Linn is a 50-year-old woman from Burma. She is divorced and lives with her mother and son in Karen State - a conflict area near the border of Burma and Thailand. She works as a shop vendor, selling steamed sticky rice with chicken and pork, and her mother is retired. Her 12-year-old son is in the fifth grade in Burma. Linn also cultivates vegetables in her garden and usually cooks meals using them. Linn enjoys watching movies in her free time, but she has not been able to do so for a while now. One year ago, Linn began to experience blurred and double vision. Currently, Linn cannot read, see, or walk well and requires a caregiver to assist her with daily activities. These symptoms have made it increasingly difficult for her to see clearly. Linn was diagnosed with retinal detachment, a condition in which the retina pulls away from the supportive tissue in the eye, resulting in vision loss. If left untreated, she could lose vision completely. Linn is scheduled to undergo surgery to reattach her retina. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF), requests $1,500 to cover her procedure and care costs. After her surgery, Linn's vision will hopefully be restored, and she will resume her daily activities comfortably. Linn expressed, "I am very pleased to receive help and I am relieved that I can also stay at BCMF's patients' house in Chiang Mai. I wish for the success of my eye surgery. After recovery, I hope to restart my previous business again."

$932raised
$568to go

Tha Zin is a 43-year-old woman from Thailand. She lives in a refugee camp in Tak Province with her husband and two sons. Tha Zin and her husband run a shop in the refugee camp. Their total monthly income is not enough to cover their basic expenses, and sometimes Tha Zin needs to borrow money with interest from her neighbor for her children’s school expenses. Tha Zin shared that in her free time she loves reading the Bible, praying, and knitting hats for her family. In 2022, Tha Zin started to experience pain when sitting. She also experienced bleeding in a sensitive area. In the refugee camp, they receive free basic health care from the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Tha Zin went to the hospital in the refugee camp, where they completed a physical examination, diagnosed her with severe hemorrhoids, and provided her with basic medication. While Tha Zin took the medication, she felt relieved, but after she finished her medication, the pain worsened, and she experienced increased swelling and inflammation. As time went on, the pain worsened. She felt it was harder to stand up, walk or sit. Currently, Tha Zin feels like she has less energy and has difficulty completing her everyday tasks. She also experiences difficulty sleeping due to her worries about her condition. Tha Zin sought treatment through our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund. She is now scheduled to undergo surgery on June 2nd at our partner's care center. Tha Zin needs your help to raise $1,500 to cover the cost of her procedure and care. Tha Zin said, “Because of my illness, I had to close my shop and leave my two children with my relatives. So, I worry about them. But I am thankful to those who will support my surgery because I cannot afford to pay for it by myself. When I recover, I will reopen my shop and pay back my debt that I borrowed for my children’s school expenses. If my family has the opportunity to do so, I want us to be resettled in a new country one day.”

$1,500raised
Fully funded