dat's Story

dat joined Watsi on October 3rd, 2016. Seven years ago, dat joined our Universal Fund, supporting life-changing treatments for a new Watsi patient every month. dat's most recent donation supported Remedan, a 7-month-old boy from Ethiopia, to fund surgery to correct bowel dysfunction.

Impact

dat has funded healthcare for 79 patients in 10 countries.

Patients funded by dat

Remedan is a baby from Ethiopia. He is a sweet baby boy who is the fourth child to his parents, and he loves to play with balloons and squeeze toys. He has started weaning, and he loves Plumpy Nut, a nutrition supplement donated by the Ethiopian government for underweight and malnourished children. Since he got the donation, his weight has improved and is now in an expected range which is a relief for his parents. Remedan's dad is a small-scale farmer and dropped out of school in grade seven. He had to sell his land when he went to the city for treatment for his son. Remedan's mom, who is a homemaker, heard about our medical partner BKMCM from a neighbor who lived nearby and who got her child treatment at BKMCM. She traveled all the way to the hospital from her home town with her dad and they now stay in the Missionaries of Charity for accommodation since they can’t afford hotels and transport costs. Remedan developed a bowel obstruction and had an emergency colostomy. He has had multiple issues with his colostomy and associated complications. His family shared that they have suffered throughout the entire process but are hopeful that things will improve. Remedan's condition means he cannot make a stool. His mom and dad are very sad and worried about their son. Remedan still requires additional surgery to complete his treatment; his family is appealing for financial support. Remedan's surgery is scheduled for October 31st and our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, requests $1,500 to cover the cost of Remedan's procedure and care. After his recovery, Remedan will no longer experience bowel dysfunction or be at risk of developing severe health complications in the future. His mom said, "I hope my child will get treatment, and I hope he will heal well after the treatment."

$1,500raised
Fully funded

Nafie is a 22-month-old toddler from Ethiopia. He loves water play and often touches things to see what is before him. He is the only child of his parents. His dad and mom are day laborers who graduated from high school. Nafie's mom noticed he was experiencing discomfort when using the restroom. She sought medical treatment and doctors determined that he was born with hypospadias, a congenital abnormality that causes urinary dysfunction. Without treatment, he will continue to experience uncomfortable symptoms and will be at risk of cancer and infertility in the future. Due to Nafie's condition, his parents are stressed and concerned about his future. They are appealing for financial assistance to help their son undergo a hypospadias repair surgery that will correct the abnormality and enable Nafie to live a full and quality life filled with dignity. After the procedure, Nafie will be able to pass urine as his peers do. Fortunately, Nafie is scheduled to undergo corrective surgery on September 22nd. Our medical partner African Mission Healthcare (AMH) is requesting $1,293 to cover the total cost of his procedure and care. Nafie's dad said, “It was really hard to believe that there is this kind of condition or there are children that went through this kind of situation. We were so scared and worried when we learned about his condition. We couldn’t think that it was correctable by treatment. We were relieved and felt happy when the doctor told us that the condition was correctable by surgery.” Nafie's mom also shared, “After the surgery, we hope he will be normal and just as other children.”

$1,293raised
Fully funded

Hosea is a 28-year-old from Kenya. He is the third child in his family of eight children and lives at home with his parents and siblings. Hosea works tirelessly on people's farms to meet his basic needs and spends most of his time at home helping his parents with their farm. Hosea loves football and enjoys playing the game with friends during his free time. Hosea was recently injured while playing football after one of the players accidentally kicked him. His friends brought him to the hospital. His right leg was swollen, deformed, and unable to be lifted due to the pain. Hosea received an x-ray, which revealed that he had complete fractures of the lower part of the tibia and fibula. He was then stabilized with a splint and scheduled to meet with the orthopedic surgeon the following day. Upon review, Hosea needs to undergo surgery to fix his broken bone and facilitate a quick healing process. Fortunately, on June 27th, Hosea will undergo a fracture repair procedure called an open reduction and internal fixation. This procedure will enable him to return to work and support himself and his family. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH), is requesting $1,145 to fund this procedure. Hosea said, "I am really suffering and, at the same time, giving people a hard time as they help me move from place to place. I am looking forward to getting well so that I may be able to work and earn as before. Kindly help me so that I may undergo this procedure."

$1,145raised
Fully funded

Dennis is the first born in a family of four children. When he finished high school, he was reluctant to join college because of his condition. He currently is not able to work because he gets easily tired and cannot carry heavy loads. He joined college just recently but has been out of school for the past two months. Now that he is at home, he helps his mother who picks tea for a living. He does not have a health insurance coverage and cannot raise the required amount of money to cater for his hospital bill. In 2019 while he was sitting for his national school exams, Dennis experienced sharp pain in his esophagus. He took a glass of water, and the pain went away for a few weeks. The pain used to occur roughly two times in a month and a glass of water would help a lot. Late last year, the pain worsened. He was not in a position to swallow food. He went to a herbalist and was given some medication to use for some time. When the dose was over, the pain was still persistent, and he still could not swallow food normally. He was then referred to Kijabe Hospital by a friend where he was examined and given some medication to use. He didn't feel better and decided to go back to the herbalist for different medication but there was no change. Later he finally returned to Kijabe Hospital and scans and tests revealed that he has Achalasia. He is scheduled for a heller's myotomy which is a curative laparotomy surgery for his condition. Now he needs $1,074 to pay for the surgery. Dennis says, "I feel very sad. If I was healthy, I would be able to work well and be comfortable with myself.”

$1,074raised
Fully funded

Francis is a 68-year-old father of four children from Kenya. He is a small-scale corn farmer with a motorbike that he uses as a source of income to feed his family. In November 2021, Francis was hit by a police officer pursuing criminals in a high-speed chase when they lost control and hit him by the roadside. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where an X-ray confirmed he had broken his tibia and fibula in his right leg. He received surgery to repair the fracture that month. However, a year later, the pain persisted from his injury, and a wound developed. He decided to visit Kijabe Hospital (KH), the care center of our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH), to seek a second opinion. Upon examination, the doctors quickly realized that the nail inserted to stabilize his leg during his last operation was infected and needed to be removed. He had the nail removed in October 2022, followed by a procedure to remove dead cells from the chronic wound that had developed. However, he still needs another procedure to create a cover for the wound in order to decrease the odds of future infection. Francis has been unable to walk or use his right leg for over 15 months, preventing him from working or using his motorbike. The multiple surgeries and the numerous hospital visits, coupled with his inability to work, have caused his family financial instability. Additionally, Francis was dependent on insurance for the previous treatments and surgeries. However, his insurance is now exhausted, and he cannot afford the next procedure. Fortunately, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH), is helping Francis receive treatment. On February 16th, AMH surgeons will perform a debridement and skin graft procedure which will allow Francis to walk easily again and reduce the likelihood of further infection. AMH is requesting $1,185 to fund this procedure. Francis says, “I have never been able to walk since the accident. I depend on my motorbike to feed my family. In this state, I am unable to ride it. I hope to get the surgery to help me use my leg again."

$1,185raised
Fully funded