Patience is a primary school teacher from Uganda. Her husband also works as a teacher, and they have four children. Their oldest child is sixteen and in secondary class four, while their youngest is four and in the baby junior class at school. Patience shared that their combined income covers their children’s school fees but is limited in providing for their family’s needs. In addition to teaching, during her time off from the school year, Patience prepares and sells local sorghum porridge. Two years ago, Patience began to experience troubling symptoms, including swelling on her neck. While the swelling was initially painless, she started feeling neck pains as time went on. Currently, she experiences airway obstruction when she sleeps or raises her arms, and she can no longer carry heavy loads. Fortunately, Patience had a friend undergo thyroidectomy surgery at our medical partner’s care center, and they referred her for treatment. Patience’s condition was diagnosed as a non-toxic multinodular goiter. She needs to undergo surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH), is helping Patience receive treatment. On January 3rd, she will undergo a thyroidectomy, during which surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. AMH is requesting $333 to fund this surgery. Patience shared: “I hope to get well and look normal again through surgery. I will resume teaching as soon as possible after complete recovery.”

Chit Htun is a 21-year-old man from Burma. He lives with his mother and two younger sisters and a younger brother. His father is deceased and his mother is a homemaker. She takes care of the household and her children. All of his younger siblings are students, while Chit Htun and his eldest sister are doing an online general education diploma. Chit Htun has two aunts who help the family financially as they can. He also has a former teacher who is able to contribute some money consistently to the family. This normally has been enough to cover the family’s basic necessities but since the February 2021 coup, prices have increased significantly and there is not always enough money to pay for food. Sometimes the family has free meals at the local monastery. Chit Htun was born with spina bifida as well as hydrocephalus at the Maternal and Child Hospital in Myawaddy in Burma and when he was just over a month old, he had a stent inserted in his brain to control hydrocephalus. He has multiple conditions arising from the spina bifida, including bilateral atrophy to his lower legs with club feet, a neurogenic bladder requiring a suprapubic catheter, a neurogenic bowel requiring a colostomy, along with scoliosis. Despite the number of surgeries he has undergone, and the pain he endures, he is a pleasant and engaging young man, thoughtful and independent. In Oct 2021, Chit Htun fell down from some stairs at his home. Though there was no loss of consciousness at the time, he hit his head with the fall. Since that time, he has been experiencing headaches and dizziness with occasional loss of consciousness. His mother brought him to the hospital in Yangon and a scan showed that the original shunt was in place. A second shunt was inserted, and it appeared to help with the loss of consciousness, but headaches and dizziness continued to be a problem. After the second shunt was cleared of partial blockage, Chit Htun still continued to have headaches and dizziness and then in October, he had a seizure, accompanied by nausea and vomiting. His family cannot afford to go for further investigation and treatment so that they came to Mae Tao Clinic across the border in Mae Sot, Thailand. Doctors want Chit Htun to undergo a CT scan, a procedure in which x-ray images taken from several angles are combined to produce cross-sectional images of the body. This scan will hopefully help doctors diagnose his condition and formulate an appropriate treatment plan. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $414 to cover the cost of Chit Htun's CT scan and care, scheduled for November 28th. Chit Htun said, “My condition is interrupting my education and my future. When I always have to stop my studies for treatment, it makes it difficult to continue.”

Hean is an active 67-year-old farmer. He is married, with six sons, one daughter, and 15 grandchildren. Three of his sons still live at home and help him on the farm. He and his wife grow rice to sell at the local market. Eight months ago, Hean developed a cataract in his left eye, causing him blurred vision, cloudiness, and an inability to see well in sunlight. He has difficulty seeing things clearly, including colors and faces, and is worried about falling when walking, so is not able to go places on his own. When Hean learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, he traveled for four and a half hours seeking treatment. On November 22nd, doctors will perform a small incision cataract surgery and implant an intraocular lens in his left eye. After recovery, he will be able to see clearly. Now, he needs help to fund this $253 procedure. Hean shared: "I hope that I can see well enough to work in the rice fields to support my family."