“When I grow up I want to be a singer,” Lika shares. “I hope someday my runny nose will stop and I will be able to breathe more easily.”
Nine-year-old Lika likes to draw pictures and play games. She lives with her parents and one older sister in Cambodia. Lika is in the second grade, but lately, she has had to stay home from school.
For the past year, Lika has felt pain when swallowing and had difficulty breathing. She also feels recurrent throat pain. Recently, because her pain wasn’t going away, Lika and her mother traveled 30 minutes on a motorcycle to reach the Children’s Surgical Centre in Phnom Penh. There, doctors diagnosed Lika with tonsil and adenoid hypertrophy.
In these disorders, parts of the tissue in the back of the mouth swell beyond their normal size. If untreated, enlarged tonsils and adenoids can block the airway—as has begun to happen in Lika’s throat—and even become infected.
We can help Lika avoid these risks and discomforts. For $201, doctors will perform the tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy procedures that she needs. After these surgeries, Lika will be able breathe easily once more, and her throat pain will go away.