Vinod's Story

Vinod joined Watsi on November 25th, 2017. Six years ago, Vinod joined our Universal Fund, supporting life-changing treatments for a new Watsi patient every month. Vinod's most recent donation supported Hein, a four-year-old boy from Burma, to fund eye surgery.

Impact

Vinod has funded healthcare for 84 patients in 11 countries.

Patients funded by Vinod

Hein is a four-year-old boy living in Burma with his parents and sister. His mother is a homemaker while his father works as a second-hand motorbike broker to provide for their family. The family faces financial struggles and Hein's grandparents often step in to offer financial assistance during times of need. Hein's sister is a student, while he stays at home with his mother. When Hein was two years old, his mother noticed that he had a small lump on his right eyelid. He rubbed his eyes frequently, experienced discomfort and sometimes woke up with his eye swollen. His mother took him to a nearby hospital in 2022 and he was given some eye drops and an antibiotic. The doctor further suggested that Hein’s mother take him to an ophthalmology hospital, which specializes in eye care, for further investigation. However, due to security concerns stemming from the civil war and the high costs associated with the journey, Hein's mother was unable to make the trip. As time passed, Hein's condition deteriorated, with increased swelling and itchiness. Presently, his right eye is painful, showing signs of redness and swelling. Hein's mother brought him to our medical partner's care center for treatment. On March 25th, Hein is scheduled for a cyst excision procedure that will provide him relief and improve his vision and eye movement. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1,500 to fund the procedure. Hein’s mother said, "I have been trying my best to seek treatment for him, and even though I cannot afford it, I hoped to find a way for him to get treated. I want him to grow up like other children and enjoy his life. As a mother, I always want the best for him, and I want to support his future ambitions. I am so happy to learn that my son's medical treatment will be supported by donors. I am happy and relieved, and I hope that Hein's condition will be cured."

$600raised
$900to go

Keanin lives in Cambodia with his wife and two young children. As a family, they enjoy listening to music and playing various sports. Both he and his wife work on their land farming rice. Keanin mentioned he would also like to start growing vegetables, but does not have the space currently. When it is rice harvest season, they keep half of the rice for cooking, and they sell the other half to support the family. When there is not much to be done in the rice field, Keanin does short-term work where he collects wood and branches from the nearby area, puts them through a wood chipper, and sells the wood chips to a local company. Around four months ago, the lid of the wood chipping machine became loose and hit Keanin in the right knee, causing a major laceration. He was rushed to a nearby hospital to stop the bleeding. He was then advised to go four hours to Phnom Penh for surgery to repair a damaged artery. Unfortunately, the artery repair was unsuccessful, and Keanin needed an amputation of his leg. Last week, the doctor from a prosthetics and orthotics organization contacted him to come in to fit his new prosthetic leg. However, when he tried to put the prosthetic on, he felt sharp pain and was unable to wear it. The doctor referred him to Children's Surgical Centre (CSC) for a consultation and to see if our partner medical team could help. Keanin needs a stump revision procedure to modify the nerve causing him pain. This will ease his pain, and make it possible to wear his new leg. Our partner CSC is requesting $391 to fund the surgery. Keanin shared, "I hope I can not be in pain and wear the prosthetic leg and be more comfortable. Then I can go back to working to support my family."

$391raised
Fully funded