jouni helminen
jouni's Story

jouni joined Watsi on July 13th, 2016. 12 other people also joined Watsi on that day! jouni's most recent donation traveled 5,300 miles to support Tha Gay, a young man from Burma, for surgery to treat his fractured forearm.

Impact

jouni has funded healthcare for 1 patient in 1 country.

Patients funded by jouni

Tha Gay is a 26-year-old mobile health worker. He studied medicine at the refugee camp where he lived in high school to pursue his dream: helping people in need of basic healthcare in rural areas of southern Burma. But at the moment, Tha Gay is not able to do this work that he is passionate about. About a month ago, Tha Gay was in a motorbike accident while transferring clinic supplies to a remote area. He suffered a severe fracture in his right arm. His friends helped him get back to the clinic where he works to access the free healthcare there—a bandage and painkillers for his arm. However, Tha Gay did not try to access more advanced medical treatment for his condition in Burma because he could not afford the cost and difficult transportation due to bad weather. Currently, Tha Gay is not able to move his right arm nor lift up, grab anything, or wash his clothing. He feels guilty that his broken arm has taken him out of commission for his medical work. There are currently only a few health workers at the clinic where he is employed, and many patients come there during the rainy season for diseases like malaria. We can help Tha Gay gets back to work soon. For $1,500, doctors will perform an open reduction internal fixation operation on his arm. In this procedure, they will surgically align the broken parts of his arm, then will set them in place using a rod or screw. This implanted equipment will guide the bone as it heals to make sure it grows back in the correct position. The requested sum will also cover the cost of the week-long hospital stay that Tha Gay will need to recuperate from the procedure. "After my fractured arm is healed, I will continue work as a health worker at the clinic because I want to help people get basic healthcare," Tha Gay shared.

$1,500raised
Fully funded