Nan is a 41-year-old woman from Burma. She lives with her husband and two children. She is a homemaker and her husband is a day laborer. They also have a small garden where they grow betel nut and trees and raise cows, goats and chickens. She loves to take care of her garden during her free times. Nan was referred to BCMF to treat her severe heart condition (ASD) at Chiang Mai Hospital (CMH). After she arrived at our medical partners "BCMF-B.K. Kee Patient House" on the evening of March 2nd, she felt weak and tired. She also felt dizzy, had a headache and difficulty breathing. During the night, she suffered a seizure and fell semi-conscious. BCMF staff rushed her to the emergency room at CMH. Nan underwent a CT scan of her head and was diagnosed with intracranial hemorrhage. The doctor then planned to perform surgery on her immediately. She had a seizure and is semi-conscious. Nan is now scheduled to undergo mass removal surgery on March 3rd. Her family is requesting $1,500 to cover the total cost of her procedure and care. Nan’s husband said, "I am hoping for a good outcome. I hope she can get through this. Thank you for helping us. I do not know what to do right now. I am praying for her.”

Prima is a 56 year old widowed mother of one child, living in Uganda. After losing her husband more than 20 years ago, Prima and her child moved to a three-roomed mud house that Prima built, and began a new life. Today, Prima works as a small scale farmer, and also crafts things by hand to sell for additional money. For the past five years, Prima has been experiencing lower abdominal pains associated with persistent and prolonged bleeding and pain. She reported to Rushoroza Hospital a few days ago, and was diagnosed with severe anemia. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is seeking $319 to fund the hysterectomy that Prima needs to finally heal her condition. The surgery is scheduled to take place on December 2nd at Rushoroza Hospital. Once she has recovered, Prima will be able to resume a full and productive life, free from pain. Prima says: “I was not doing well; I thank God that I rushed to Rushoroza Hospital for treatment. I pray that my surgery goes well so that I may be able to resume farming and take good care of myself and family.”

Eva is a 37-year-old mother from Uganda. Her husband works in a Sacco and she owns a small hairdressing business in her local village. However, due to limited capital for expansion, her business has not been able to compete with similar businesses in the area and her husband's job does not provide financial stability for their family. 15 years ago, Eva began to experience troubling symptoms, including a painful swelling on the front of her neck, shortness of breath, and disfigurement of her neck. She was diagnosed with a goiter, an abnormal enlargement of the thyroid gland. She needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is helping Eva receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on February 14th at our medical partner's care center. Surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. This procedure will cost $252, and she and her family need help to raise the funds. Eva says “I know that my condition has limited my progress, but I hope that now I will have the surgery done under your support, I will live a happy and improved lifestyle as I resume with my work.”