For a decade now, 64-year-old Yan has been living with a pterygium in each of her eyes. These growths are thought to form because of prolonged exposure to sunlight or dust.
Yan has the constant feeling of a foreign object in her eye, and this irritation sometimes worsens into a stronger burning sensation. The pterygia also give her blurred vision, making it hard for her to do the rice farming work that is her livelihood. Even her favorite leisure time activity—watching Khmer dramas and news on TV—is affected by her impaired eyesight.
Yan lives in Cambodia with her husband, and has a large family: one son, two daughters, and ten grandchildren. One of those daughters traveled three hours with Yan to reach the Children’s Surgical Centre so that her eye problems could be diagnosed.
At the hospital, doctors had good news for Yan: there is a surgical treatment that can remove her pterygia. And although Yan cannot afford this procedure on her own, for $148, we can make that operation a reality for her.
After Yan undergoes her pterygium removal surgery, her vision will improve, and she will feel less pain and irritation in her eyes. Let’s make sure this grandmother can heal so she can see clearly again for the first time in ten years.