Meet Hart, a 48-year-old man from Cambodia. “Hart is married with three sons and two daughters,” shares our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC). “He likes to listen to the news on the radio and watch boxing on Sundays.”
Hart has a pterygium in his eye—a non-cancerous growth of the mucous membrane that covers the cornea. Hart’s pterygium not only prevents him from doing work on his farm, but it also “causes him much pain and burning in his eye.” The symptoms have also gone beyond his eye alone, as his face often gets red and puffy.
With $150 in funding, Hart will receive a surgery in which the damaged mucous membrane of his cornea will be removed. This surgery will prevent Hart from losing his vision as the pterygium grows, and relieve Hart of his discomfort and pain.
After surgery, CSC reports, “Hart hopes to go back to the farm and also find a second job in construction to bring in extra money for his family.”