Osman's Story

Osman joined Watsi on January 1st, 2017. Six years ago, Osman joined our Universal Fund, supporting life-changing treatments for a new Watsi patient every month. Osman's most recent donation supported Hom, a single 60-year-old woman from Cambodia, to fund surgery in her left eye to remove abnormal tissue.

Impact

Osman has funded healthcare for 81 patients in 12 countries.

patients you have funded

Chaw is 20-year-old who lives with his parents and three younger sister in a refugee camp. Chaw's sisters go to school, his mother is a homemaker and his father and brother work as agricultural day labourers. Chaw's brother lives on his employer's land and sends the family what money he can every month. After his accident, Chaw stopped working on the same farm as his brother. In his free time, before his accident, Chaw liked to play football with his friends and visit with them. In 2020, Chaw was carrying corn to the peeling machine where he worked and he slipped and hit his left lower leg against the fan of the machine. Chaw was in a great deal of pain and was brought to the hospital. Chaw was told that his left lower leg was broken, and underwent surgery to insert a steel rod into his leg. This past January, Chaw noticed a mass on his left lower leg, where he had received surgery. The mass was very painful and felt hot to the touch. Over time, the mass increased in size until his whole lower left leg became swollen. Although he received surgery to remove the mass, Chaw's leg never fully healed. Eventually he was diagnosed with osteomyelitis and was told the steel rod in his leg would need to be replaced. Chaw is in a lot of pain and his lower left leg continues to be swollen and red. He cannot sleep well and needs crutches and assistance to move around. With the help of our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF), Chaw will undergo surgery to reset his fractured bones and ensure proper healing. The procedure is scheduled for September 6th and BCMF is raising $1,500 to cover the cost of this life-changing procedure that will help Chaw walk free of pain. Chaw shared, “I am happy that I will receive surgery with the help of the organisation [Burma Children Medical Fund] and I am thankful to all of the donors. In the future I want to get better quickly. I will find a new job and support my family.”

$1,500raised
Fully funded

Tablut is playful a eight-year-old boy from Burma. In his free time, he enjoys playing football with his friends and hunting with a slingshot in the jungle. He lives with his parents and four sisters in a village near the border in Karen State, Burma. During the day, Tablut and his sisters go to school in the village, while his parents work as agricultural day laborers. They also grow rice for their family to eat, as well as raise chickens and pigs. Together they earn 5,000 baht (approx. 166 USD) per month. The income they earn is just enough to cover their monthly expenses and they cannot afford to pay for other costs that come up including basic health care. On April 26th, Tablut and his friends climbed up a mango tree to pick mangoes, however, Tablut slipped and fell out of the tree, fracturing his right leg. Right away his thigh looked deformed, and he experienced a lot of pain. His friends ran to get his mother who carried him on her back to a nearby clinic where he was admitted for four days. There the medic wrapped his right thigh in a bandage and gave him medication for his pain. While admitted, his pain lessened but his thigh became swollen and he began to develop a fever which caused him extensive pain and an inability to sleep. His mother was told by the medic that they would arrange transportation to take him to a hospital. On April 31st, Tablut and his mother were brought to our medical partner's care center Maharaja Nikon Chiang Mai Hospital (CMH). There, he received an x-ray confirming that his right thigh was fractured. In early May he underwent surgery to place an external fixation device onto his right thigh. Initially, after surgery his pain lessened, however as time has gone on the pain and swelling have returned and he's once again began to develop fevers at night, as well as blisters on his leg where the external fixation device is attached. Currently, he cannot shower by himself, and cannot move his right leg or walk anywhere without the help of his mother. With the help of our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, Tablut will undergo surgery on June 17th to reset his fractured bones and ensure proper healing. After surgery, Tablut's pain will finally subside and he will be able to walk, play, and go back to school to be with his sisters and friends. Our medical partner is asking for $1,500 to fund Tablut's surgery and medical care. His mother said, “Now I am miserable. I want my child to receive surgery quickly so that we can go home. I worry for him and I also worry about my other children who were left behind [at home]. There is flooding in my village, and I am worried that they will go to the river to swim. Thinking about both Tablut and my other children, I can’t sleep at night nor eat. The school will reopen soon, but I have not saved any money for my children’s school fees yet. I want him to go to school when he recovers.”

$1,500raised
Fully funded

Pwe is a 56-year-old woman who lives with her husband, her older brother, her daughter and her grandson in a refugee camp in Tak Province, Thailand. Since they came to the refugee camp, Pwe teaches at one of the primary schools and she earns 1,060 baht (approx. 35 USD) per month. She has a resourceful family: Her daughter teaches piano on a keyboard, and she earns around 2,000 baht (approx. 67 USD) per month. Her older brother is a carpenter who earns income when someone commissions a piece of furniture. When he does have work, he will earn around 150 baht (approx. 5 USD) per day. Pwe's grandson is a nursery school student in the refugee camp. Her son-in-law went back to Burma to visit his parents in 2019. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, he has been unable to come back to the refugee camp since then. All together, they work hard to make finances meet their day to day needs. The doctors at our medical partner's care center, Mae Sot General Hospital (MSGH), have diagnosed Pwe with a cataract in her left eye. Currently, Pwe cannot see people’s faces and she can only perceive light out of her left eye. With her right eye, she can see things that are near, but nothing that's far away. She received a pair of eyeglasses from the doctor at MSGH after her first visit, which helps her see better with her right eye but if she does not wear the eyeglasses, she cannot read or teach her students. Fortunately, on February 23rd, doctors will perform a lens replacement surgery, during which they will remove Pwe's natural lenses and replace them with an intraocular lens implant. After recovery, she will be able to see clearly again and go back to teaching her students without difficulty. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1,500 to help fund Pwe's treatment. She said, “Since the vision in my left eye worsened, I feel uncomfortable reading and teaching. Sometimes, I ask my daughter, who also graduated from high school in the refugee camp, to teach in my place as I cannot read or prepare my lesson plans.”

$1,500raised
Fully funded