Since she was five years old, Sas has been dealing with the painful aftermath of a serious ear infection.
Sas is a married 30-year-old woman from Cambodia who has two sons and farms to make ends meet. Our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC), explains that her childhood ear infection “caused hearing loss, a perforated tympanic membrane, discharge, and pain. The infection developed into a cholesteatoma and she still experiences these symptoms.”
A cholesteatoma is an abnormal skin growth in the middle ear which causes unpleasant symptoms like the ones Sas is experiencing. Removing it requires surgery, which Sas cannot afford.
“I am unhappy that I have daily ear pain and it is difficult to communicate with other people. Sometimes I can’t do anything because of the pain,” Sas says.
In hopes of receiving care, Sas traveled for five hours with her mother to reach CSC for surgery. With our help and $809, Sas will receive surgery to remove the growth and treat the underlying ear infection.
As a result of this surgery, CSC says, “her pain and discharge will stop and over time her hearing can improve.”