Meet 46-year-old Nou from Cambodia. “Nou is married with one son. She works as a seller at the market,” reports our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC). “In her free time, Nou likes to clean her house and study English.”
Nou has a bilateral cholesteatoma, a non-cancerous skin cyst in the middle section of the ear. Over time, this skin growth can increase in size and destroy the surrounding delicate bones of the middle ear, resulting in loss of hearing and potential facial paralysis. “When Nou was 18-years-old, she began having ear discharge on both sides, with hearing loss, tinnitus [ringing in the ears], and pain,” continues CSC.
With $809, Nou can receive a mastoidectomy in order to surgically remove cells in the hollow, air-filled spaces in the skull behind the ear and relieve her unpleasant symptoms. CSC explains, “After a mastoidectomy procedure, the ear discharge will stop, and Nou will be able to have improved hearing.”
Nou and her husband remain hopeful for treatment and are eager to restore her good health. She tells us, “I hope the ear discharge will stop, and I can have good hearing without pain.”