San Htay is a 44-year-old woman from Thailand. She moved from Burma eight years ago in search of better economic opportunities and lives with her husband and two sons in a village in Thailand. San Htay has an older daughter, who lives nearby with her own family, and San Htay also has three children from a previous marriage who live in Burma with their grandfather. San Htay’s husband and older son work as day laborers and collect firewood and charcoal. She is a homemaker, taking care of the household, looking after her youngest son, and raising the family’s chickens. She shared that their overall income is insufficient to cover the family’s daily expenses and healthcare.
In October 2022, San Htay began to experience lower back pain and other worrisome symptoms. She visited the hospital in early November, where the doctors conducted an ultrasound and discovered a possible mass at the cervix. She was given iron supplements and pain medication. However, her symptoms have continued to worsen over time, and she is also experiencing headaches, weight loss, and a decreased appetite. As a result, working around the home is difficult for her, and her husband and son often have to leave work to help. This has led to a decrease in their family income, which is adding further stress on San Htay. She shared that she also misses being able to work in her garden to grow many things like cabbage and chilies, but the pain and fatigue make it too challenging.
Fortunately, our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF), can help. The doctors at BCMF’s hospital want San Htay 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 her condition and formulate an appropriate treatment plan. San Htay will undergo this scan on December 8th, and BCMF is requesting $414 to cover the cost of San Htay’s CT scan and care.
San Htay said: “At first, I was feeling hopeless, crying a lot, and now that I know there are donors who can help cover the cost of the treatment, I am feeling hopeful again.”