June 10, 2025
Veasna is a playful 6-year-old from Cambodia who lives with his parents, grandfather, and aunt. His parents are rice farmers. Veasna is an only child and was born two months prematurely, spending the first six weeks of his life in a neonatal hospital unit. Veasna can speak but can only crawl due to his condition.
When Veasna was one year old, his mother noticed that he could not learn to walk and was dragging his legs. At the age of three, he experienced a fever accompanied by several convulsions and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. This condition is caused by damage to the developing brain, usually occurring before birth. It affects muscle tone, posture, and movement. His mother researched on her phone for help and found our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC), on social media. She brought Veasna for a consultation in March. For the past several months, he has received physiotherapy at CSC and received a spica cast for medical contracture management of the muscle contractures in his legs. Veasna’s movement is limited because he is unable to extend his knees or abduct his hips fully.
Our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre, is helping Veasna receive treatment. On June 10th, surgeons will perform a contracture release surgery to lengthen muscles that are tight or contracted and limit his movement. This procedure will help relieve tension and pain to help him walk. CSC is requesting $572 to fund this procedure.
Veasna’s mother shared: “We hope that after surgery, our son can walk, have no pain, and can go to school.”
Veasna is a playful 6-year-old from Cambodia who lives with his parents, grandfather, and aunt. His parents are rice farmers. Veasna is an o...
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December 6, 2025
For most of his life, Veasna’s tight leg muscles made it painful for him to sit comfortably or stretch his legs, and carrying him became more difficult for his parents. After a careful evaluation at CSC, doctors recommended surgery to improve his comfort and mobility through bilateral tenotomies and calf muscle lengthening. The goal was to release the tight muscles in his hips and calves, which were pulling his legs inward and downward.
Veasna underwent surgery with the support of his parents, who stayed by his bedside throughout his hospital stay. The procedure went well. Postoperatively, his legs were placed in soft casts, and he was kept on bed rest for the first few days. Nurses carefully monitored him for pain and taught his mother how to clean the incisions and reposition him. After a few days, he started treatment with the physiotherapy team. His parents were overjoyed to see him smile when he sat upright without pain for the first time in months. His family has high hopes that these small changes will lead to big milestones—such as improved sitting balance, easier caregiving, and perhaps, one day, assisted walking.
Veasna’s mother said, “This gives us hope. I believe he will sit up straight and possibly even take steps with assistance. I am thankful to the doctors, nurses, and everyone who cared for my son.”
For most of his life, Veasna’s tight leg muscles made it painful for him to sit comfortably or stretch his legs, and carrying him became mor...
Read more