Nick's Story

Nick joined Watsi on January 18th, 2015. Nine years ago, Nick joined our Universal Fund, supporting life-changing treatments for a new Watsi patient every month. Nick's most recent donation traveled 8,100 miles to support Lydia, a student from Kenya, to fund liver surgery.

Impact

Nick has funded healthcare for 117 patients in 15 countries.

Patients funded by Nick

Linn is a 50-year-old woman from Burma. She is divorced and lives with her mother and son in Karen State - a conflict area near the border of Burma and Thailand. She works as a shop vendor, selling steamed sticky rice with chicken and pork, and her mother is retired. Her 12-year-old son is in the fifth grade in Burma. Linn also cultivates vegetables in her garden and usually cooks meals using them. Linn enjoys watching movies in her free time, but she has not been able to do so for a while now. One year ago, Linn began to experience blurred and double vision. Currently, Linn cannot read, see, or walk well and requires a caregiver to assist her with daily activities. These symptoms have made it increasingly difficult for her to see clearly. Linn was diagnosed with retinal detachment, a condition in which the retina pulls away from the supportive tissue in the eye, resulting in vision loss. If left untreated, she could lose vision completely. Linn is scheduled to undergo surgery to reattach her retina. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF), requests $1,500 to cover her procedure and care costs. After her surgery, Linn's vision will hopefully be restored, and she will resume her daily activities comfortably. Linn expressed, "I am very pleased to receive help and I am relieved that I can also stay at BCMF's patients' house in Chiang Mai. I wish for the success of my eye surgery. After recovery, I hope to restart my previous business again."

$932raised
$568to go

Daw Khin is a widow who lives with her three children in Yangon, Burma. She now stays at home and her elder son is often sick and unable to work. Her younger son is a day laborer, and her youngest daughter is a salesperson. The income they earn is only enough for daily expenses, and there is no extra money for basic healthcare. In March, Daw Khin began experiencing blurry vision and difficulty seeing clearly with her left eye. Despite the absence of pain or discharge from both eyes, she could not seek medical attention due to financial constraints. As her vision deteriorated, she acquired some funds from her children and visited an ophthalmologist at KBC Hospital on June 5th. The doctor diagnosed her with glaucoma in both eyes and emphasized the urgent need for eye surgery in her left eye to prevent blindness. Fortunately, Daw Khin contacted a monk from Kyaung Gyi Parahita Monastery in Yangon, who referred her to the Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF). Now, Daw Khin seeks assistance to raise the required $769 for the procedure, significantly improving her quality of life and restoring her confidence. Currently, she cannot read books, watch TV, or walk alone as she cannot see her surroundings. She and her family are apprehensive about her eye condition and are afraid of her becoming blind and depressed about not having enough money for further treatment. Daw Khin said, "I am thankful for the support from donors and BCMF for my eye operation's cost. If there is no BCMF and donors, I will be blinded, and there is no hope for me to regain my vision. I can't thank you enough for helping me, and I pray the organization will be more successful in the future."

$769raised
Fully funded