Sable is a four-year-old girl from Burma. She lives with her parents, two sisters, and two brothers in Karen State, Burma. Two of her siblings attend school, while the oldest two siblings help manage the family’s farm. Sable’s parents are rice farmers and Sable is a nursery student.
Over one year ago, while Sable and her friends were playing inside the house, her friend accidentally pushed her near the top of the ladder (which serves as the stairs separating two floors). She fell down the ladder, hitting her face and head against the ladder and concrete floor. According to her parents, she was unconscious for four minutes but when she woke up, she seemed fine. After the fall, her face was bruised, she lost one tooth, and there was significant swelling on the backside of her head. In addition to severe bruising and swelling, her left eye was protruding from the eye socket. The day after the accident, her parents brought her to the nearest hospital, which took about one hour by motorbike. At the hospital, the doctor suspected the bump on the back of her head was pus-filled and attempted to aspirate it with a syringe. During the procedure, the bleeding was uncontrollable, such that her parents had to apply pressure to help stop the bleeding. Her parents were upset because they thought the doctor would at least order a CT scan or additional tests. Afterwards, the doctor discharged Sable with some medication. After that, her parents tried relying on traditional medicine (like turmeric and oil) for two months, but there was no improvement. Finally, Sable’s parents took her to Mae Tao Clinic (MTC) and MTC referred her to Watsi partner’s Mae Sot Hospital for a CT scan. Currently, she still has a bulging left eye and bump on the backside of her head.
Doctors want Sable 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.
Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $414 to cover the cost of Sable’s CT scan and care, scheduled for January 31st.
Her parents shared, “We want to treat and take care of our children, but we can’t afford the medical costs.”
