Meet Tichheang, a 13-year-old, second-grade student from Cambodia. His parents work as farmers, cultivating rice and cashews. His favorite subjects in school are Khmer and Sociology, and he loves playing the drums with his dad and playing soccer with his friends in his free time. When Tichheang grows up, he dreams of becoming a drummer! Around five years ago, Tichheang developed an ear infection. This infection caused a cholesteatoma, or an abnormal skin growth, to develop in the middle ear behind the ear drum. As a result, Tichheang experiences ear pain accompanied by fever, ear drainage, headaches, and weakened hearing on the right side. It is very difficult for Tichheang to communicate at school due to this condition. He is also often absent from class due to his symptoms. Tichheang's family traveled to our medical partner's care center for treatment. On April 9th, Tichheang will undergo a mastoidectomy procedure in his right ear. During this procedure, ENT surgeons will remove the cholesteatoma. Tichheang and his family are able to contribute $100 towards the cost of his treatment and need help raising $926 more to fund this procedure, which covers medications, supplies, and inpatient care. His mother shared: "I want to see my son in good health and able to communicate more easily."

Allen is a 25-year-old mother from Uganda. Allen enjoys cooking, cleaning, and taking care of her family. She farms for a living but due to limited land, most of her crop is used to feed the family. If there is a surplus, she can sell them to generate income for the family. Allen came to our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH), complaining of a swelling on her left thigh. For two years, Allen has found it uncomfortable to walk and the swollen area is painful upon touch. She experiences paralysis whenever she sits or stands for long. At AMH, Allen was examined and diagnosed with a neurofibroma, a type of peripheral nerve tumor. It was recommended that the neurofibroma be excised. On March 12th, surgeons will remove the mass and Allen needs help to raise $137 to fund this procedure. Allen says, “I’ve been in pain for the past two years but am hopeful that with your support, I will be operated on and will get better.”

Nyi is a 22-year-old man from Thailand. He lives in the monastery with two other monks. He helps the monk with cooking, cleaning, and looking after the monks. He receives free food and free accommodation. He has no income but has enough food. Originally from Burma, his aim of coming to Thailand was to look for better job opportunities and also to seek treatment but because of his condition, he does not have job and ended up living in the monastery. In December 2022, Nyi started experiencing some headaches and blurred vision. He went to the local eye clinic and his eyes were tested and he received a pair of eyeglasses. However, the eyeglasses did not help him see better so the doctor suggested him to have further investigation and possibly a computerized scan (CT). Nyi had no money so he did not pursue further investigation of his symptoms. He was looking for a way to get treatment and finally arrived in Thailand and visited Mae Tao Clinic (MTC) in November 2023. After meeting with the doctor at MTC, the doctor told him to go to Mae Sot Hospital (MSH) for further investigation and explained to him that his eyes looked normal but there might be a tumor that is causing his blurred vision, the doctor then recommended he undergo a CT scan to confirm his diagnosis and make the best plan for his care. Doctors want Nyi 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 Nyi's CT scan and care, scheduled for January 30th. Nyi said, "I want to recover and get a job so that I can earn money for my living."