Sophanun is an active seven-year-old student in grade one. He and his family come from Battambang province, approximately six and a half hours away from the capital city. He has one younger sister, his father is a musician, and his mother stays home to care for the children. His favorite activities in school are singing Khmer songs and painting. He has recently learned to swim and really enjoys splashing in the water his father. His favorite foods are pork porridge, broccoli with meat, and fresh mango juice.
For several years, Sophanun has been experiencing sore throats. During the night he often has trouble breathing. He gets frequent fevers and he doesn’t sleep or feel well. Frequent illness causes him to lose his appetite and miss school. Sophanun was recently diagnosed with enlarged tonsils and adenoids, which, if not treated, will cause his symptoms to persist and possibly intensify over time.
Our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre, is requesting $265 to fund a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy for Sophanun, which is scheduled to take place on September 26th. Surgeons will remove his tonsils and adenoids, hopefully relieving Sophanun of his symptoms and helping him live much more comfortably and be able to attend school and do all the things he loves.
His parents say, “We hope that after surgery, Sophanum will be comfortable drinking and eating and it will be easy for him to breathe.”