Somanuth is a five-year-old girl from Cambodia. She is the only child in her family. Her parents work in a factory in Phnom Penh, away from home, and she lives with her grandparents, two cousins, and an aunt in Prey Veng province. Her grandparents sell plastic goods at home, and her aunt sells second-hand clothes at the local market. Somanuth recently started first grade and she loves drawing. When she grows up, she wants to be a teacher. At home, she enjoys snacking on milk and cookies. In her free time, she loves drawing pictures with her cousins.
Around one month ago, Somanuth developed a lesion on her gums called a gingival granuloma. This is a lesion on the gums that appears as a small, red, and inflamed nodule. It is characterized by bleeding when touched because of the numerous fragile blood vessels in it. The lump growing in size, causing her discomfort and difficulty eating.
Somanuth traveled to our medical partner’s care center to receive treatment. On June 20th, surgeons at Children’s Surgical Centre will remove the mass and Somanuth needs help to raise $248 to fund the procedure.
Somanuth’s father said, “I am worried about what this could be in my daughter’s mouth and hope that the doctors can remove it and she will be able to eat more easily.”