Meet Kim, a 61-year-old grandfather from Cambodia. “Kim is married with five children and one grandchild,” our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC), tells us. “He enjoys current events in Cambodia and is always listening or watching the news.”
“Kim has pterygiums that make his job as a construction worker basically impossible due to the constant burning sensations,” explains CSC. “He also has very blurred vision. Even when he stays inside, he still has discomfort all of the time.”
A pterygium often occurs in patients whose eyes get unprotected exposure to the sun. As a result, a small growth develops on the inner corner of the eye, causing discomfort including burning sensations.
Doctors can remove Kim’s pterygiums in a simple procedure. The small growth will be surgically removed and the area will then be repaired with extra tissue from Kim’s eye. $150 in Watsi funding will ensure that Kim receives the surgery and will cover all the operational costs as well as the medicines he will need.
“After the surgery, he is looking forward to no pain, going back to his construction job, and he even says he will try to get a second job as a taxi driver to make extra money for his family,” shares CSC.