Kyaw Zwar is a 38-year-old man who lives in Burma and works as a mechanic. He’s been struggling with a brain tumor for over ten years and has not been able to get adequate treatment.
In 2006, Kyaw Zwar began to experience blurry vision and sharp pain in his head. However, he never sought treatment for his headaches, relying instead on painkillers until his marriage in 2011. When his wife brought him to visit a local doctor and a neurosurgeon, both prescribed him with medication that provided temporary relief of his symptoms.
In July 2016, Kyaw Zwar fell unconscious. A CT scan performed at Yangon General Hospital diagnosed him with a brain tumor, and he learned that he needed surgery. Though Kyaw Zwar and his wife visited many hospitals, they were unable to find affordable treatment. They sold land to pay hospital fees and eventually found themselves in debt.
Fortunately, Kyaw Zwar’s cousin referred him to our medical partner. After assessment by a doctor at a partner hospital, Kyaw Zwar received an MRI test on October 18, 2016. This test should give his doctors a clearer picture of his brain, enabling them to develop a treatment plan. Now, Kyaw Zwar needs help to pay for this $814 procedure.
“If he does not get the medical treatment he needs, we will lose everything, including our land,” says Kyaw Zwar’s wife, “but we don’t care about any of that because we just want him to get well. We feel like there is some hope now.”