Gary's Story

Gary joined Watsi on July 6th, 2014. Three years ago, Gary joined our Universal Fund, supporting life-changing treatments for a new Watsi patient every month. Gary's most recent donation traveled 8,600 miles to support Lin, a 24 year old day laborer from Thailand, to fund fracture repair surgery to help him walk again.

Impact

Gary has funded healthcare for 104 patients in 13 countries.

Patients funded by Gary

Hannah is a quiet small-scale businesswoman from Kenya. She is the third born in a family of ten. Hannah has one daughter. Her medical condition has impacted her social life, causing her to separate from her spouse and bear the weight of her problems alone, only feeling comfortable sharing her experiences with a close family member. She sells vegetables at a nearby market to sustain her and her daughter’s needs. Hannah loves her job and does all she can to ensure her daughter’s education and comfort are cared for! For six years, Hannah has been experiencing irregular menstrual cycles, severe lower abdominal pain, and other worrisome symptoms. She has had several miscarriages and was treated for anemia. Over the years, Hannah has been to many hospitals and undergone scans showing fibroids increasing over time. When she visited our medical partner’s care enter, she was already losing blood and was advised to undergo surgery. Hannah’s condition was diagnosed as multiple fibroids with anemia. In order to finally heal, she needs to undergo a hysterectomy, a procedure in which surgeons will remove her uterus. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH), is requesting $755 to fund Hannah’s surgery. On August 16th, she will undergo gynecological surgery at AMH’s care center. Once recovered, Hannah can resume her daily activities free of pain. Hannah shared: “This bleeding is getting out of control, and I feel it may even make me die. I seek help so that through God’s mercy, I will be operated to remove this problem and get back to my normal life. I have to be strong for the sake of my daughter.”

$755raised
Fully funded

Originally from Burma, Cherry is a 34-year-old woman who lives with her father's cousin and her two cousins in Tak Province, Thailand. Her two cousins are students, while Cherry is a homemaker. Her father's cousin runs her own small business, selling everything from makeup to food online or through her friends. They work hard to support their family. In the beginning of 2023, Cherry began to experience troubling symptoms, including swollen neck and discomfort when swallowing food. She was diagnosed with thyroid goiter. The thyroid is the gland located in front of your neck and produces thyroid hormones. These hormones are responsible for functions such as metabolism, growth and other bodily functions. She needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is helping Cherry receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on January 24th at Mae Sot General Hospital. Surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. She and her family need help raising $1,500 for her treatment. Cherry said, "I feel stressed about my condition. Since I heard that my family who lives in Burma have now become displaced, I have felt more stressed and I am worried about them. I want to get treatment and recover soon so that I can look for a job and support my family back home. Thank you to all the donors and the organisation Burma Children Medical Fund for being willing to help me by paying for my treatment cost."

$1,032raised
$468to go

Kanha is a 21-year-old woman from Cambodia who lives with her family. She has three brothers and two sisters who also still live at home with their parents. Because of an unknown birth condition, she does not speak, so she has never attended school. She occasionally helps out her family by harvesting fruit from local orchards to earn extra income. On March 4th, Kanha fell from a mango tree while collecting fruit and injured her back. She experiences severe pain in her neck and back and is unable to walk. Her family took her to a local provincial hospital, but they could not pay for her care. Instead, the doctors recommended that the family drive four hours to the capital city of Phnom Penh for treatment. She has been diagnosed with a fractured spin and requires surgery. Fortunately, our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), is helping Kanha receive treatment. On March 10th, doctors at CSC will perform a spinal laminectomy with metal implants to stabilize her spinal column. A laminectomy enlarges the spinal canal to relieve pressure on the spinal cord. Now, Kanha and her family need help raising $1,500 to fund her procedure and care. The cost includes hospitalization, surgery, implants, physical therapy, and medications. After recovery, Kanha's pain should improve significantly, and she should have full mobility after four to eight weeks. Kanha's mother shared, "we hope after surgery, my daughter will no longer be in pain and will be able to walk."

$1,500raised
Fully funded