Luc's Story

Luc joined Watsi on August 25th, 2015. Eight years ago, Luc joined our Universal Fund, supporting life-changing treatments for a new Watsi patient every month. Luc's most recent donation traveled 7,400 miles to support David, a 14-year-old boy from Cambodia, to fund spinal surgery.

Team

Canada

25 members

Impact

Luc has funded healthcare for 104 patients in 12 countries.

Patients funded by Luc

Thaw is a two-year-old boy from Burma. He lives with his parents and elder sister in Zee Kone Village, but his family migrated to Thailand four months ago to seek better job opportunities. His father works as an agricultural day labourer, while his mother is a homemaker. Thaw’s elder brother and sister take turns working as agricultural day labourers. Thaw’s mother carefully manages their income, and their combined family income is enough to cover their daily basic expenses. Thaw receives free healthcare services at Mae Tao Clinic (MTC). On 2 July 2021, Thaw was born through emergency caesarean section. His mother noticed on the following day, while cleaning Thaw’s body, that he was born with a worrying condition that makes it challenging to go to the bathroom. Thaw’s mother immediately informed the doctor, who then referred Thaw to hospital in Ayeyarwady Division. Unfortunately, due to a lack of facilities, he did not receive the necessary treatment at this hospital. He was subsequently recommended to go to Yangon Hospital. However, due to financial limitations, Thaw’s mother could not afford to take him to Yangon Hospital, leading her to cease efforts to seek Thaw’s treatment. Fortunately, Thaw was able to defecate through a fistula however Thaw began to experience troubling symptoms, including at present, Thaw is passing stool through the fistula, experiencing constipation with bowel movements occurring every four or five days, with a distended abdomen. Thaw has been diagnosed with imperforate anus with fistula and his doctors recommend a colostomy. A colostomy is a surgery that creates an opening for the colon through the abdomen. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1500 to fund Thaw's surgery at Mae Sot General Hospital scheduled January 31st. Once completed, this procedure will hopefully alleviate him symptoms. Thaw’s mother expressed her concerns saying, “I want my son to have a healthy, long life. I was always worried about him, and he couldn’t receive treatment due to lack of money. Now, with the help of BCMF and donors, he can undergo surgery. Thank you."

$628raised
$872to go

Hellen is a nine-year-old girl who is approaching grade one. She is one of nine siblings, three of whom share the same congenital condition of clubfoot. Both of her parents are farmers. They cultivate maize and millet for food and sell the surplus to earn money for other expenses. Unfortunately, Hellen’s father, who is advancing in age and has clubfoot, cannot work extended hours. Therefore, his mother toils diligently on the farm to ensure they yield sufficient harvests. Hellen has clubfoot on her left foot and, fortunately, Hellen's family visited our medical partner's care center, the Plaster House NGO. There, the team began clubfoot treatment on October 6th. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is requesting $935 to fund Hellen's clubfoot repair. After treatment, she will use night casts to aid in her full recovery and later be able to walk comfortably. She did not receive treatment as a baby because of her parents' lack of knowledge about the condition and financial barriers. However, one day, a glimmer of hope emerged when Hellen’s father crossed paths with a young boy who had once faced a similar challenge but had now fully recovered. Filled with renewed hope, he inquired about how this transformation had occurred. The boy’s story revealed the existence of our medical partner's care center to Hellen’s father. Filled with optimism, he hurried home and shared this life-altering discovery with his wife. Together, they decided to bring their precious daughter and three of her siblings to The Plaster House. Hellen’s mother says: “I am glad there is a chance for my daughter to get treatment, I hope she doesn't have to live with this disability for the rest of her life.”

$935raised
Fully funded

Gabriel is a 21-year-old college student and the only child of a single mother, who works as a teacher in their town. Gabriel is currently in college at Meru, roughly 100 kilometers away from his mother's home, where he is studying electrical engineering. His mother cares for Gabriel and has paid for him to go to school. She also cares for Gabriel's grandparents. Gabriel is looking forward to the day when he can support his mother and care for this family. Gabriel used to ride his bike to school. Unfortunately, on June 23rd, as he was biking to school he lost control of his bike when he was going downhill and had a severe accident. He was taken to Meru General Hospital, where an x-ray revealed a compound fracture of the tibia on his right leg. On June 24th Gabriel was transferred to Nazareth Hospital, the hospital of our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH), which was closer to Gabriel's home in Kimbo. Fortunately, surgeons at our medical partner quickly diagnosed the issue Gabriel was having and created a treatment plan. On July 3rd, Gabriel will undergo a fracture repair procedure, called an open reduction and internal fixation. Post-surgery, Gabriel will be able to heal properly and walk and bike again without support. AMH is now requesting $1,049 to help fund this procedure. Gabriel said, “I was going on well with my education but this accident makes me feel disappointed. I seek help so that I can be operated on and hope that as soon as my leg is healed, I can go back to college and create my own future.”

$1,049raised
Fully funded