Kaung is a two-year-old boy who lives with his grandparents in Thailand, and enjoys playing with his toy cars. His grandfather brought him to our medical partner, Burma Border Projects (BBP), seeking treatment for a bilateral talipes equinovarus, more commonly known as bilateral clubfoot.
In children with clubfoot, the foot is twisted out of position due to short tendons in the foot and ankle. Approximately half of children with clubfoot have the condition in both feet, as is the case with Kaung.
“Kaung cannot walk because of his clubfeet,” BBP tells us. “When he tries to walk, he cries and screams, ‘Pain! Pain!’”
Kaung’s parents, who work as gardeners at a rose plantation, live in the same village as Kaung, but they are unable to provide financial support for their son because of debts they must repay.
For $1,500 in funding from Watsi and an additional $750 from Burma Children Medical Fund, Kaung will undergo surgery to release the tendons in his feet and ankles. Doctors will then move his feet into the proper position and place them in casts for up to two months. After the casts are removed, Kaung will wear braces for a year or more to maintain the proper position of his feet. “Kaung will be able to walk and run after successful surgery,” says BBP.
Funding also pays for pre-surgical consultations and imaging, an eight-day hospital stay, lab work, and pain medicine for Kaung.
“I hope that Kaung will get surgery, so he will be able to walk and play as he so much desires,” shares Kaung’s grandfather. “It is very important that he can walk. I want him to go to school, and if he can’t walk, it would make his life so much harder for him.”
