Phearum is an energetic 5-year-old girl. She is not yet in school and has a six-year-old sister in first grade who she likes to keep up with! Her parents are seasonal farmers and have several cows. She enjoys playing with toys, watching TV, and going to the market with her mother. She shared that her favorite meal is Khmer noodles and milk.
In 2021, Phearum was burned on her left hand by a cooking fire. Her mother took her to a local provincial hospital for medical treatment. After the wound healed, the skin tightened around the burn site, and she was left with contractures on her left wrist and a deformity of her finger. The scars are itchy and keep her from being able to do all she used to. She is starting to feel self-conscious of the look of her hand too. A local hospital referred her to our medical partner Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC) for help. There surgeons recommend a Z-plasty procedure to improve the functional and cosmetic appearance of her scars.
On May 9th, surgeons at CSC will perform a burn contracture release surgery to help her to grasp objects and use her finger again. Now, her family needs help to fund this $495 procedure.
Phearum’s mother said: “I am hoping my daughter can have her burn scars fixed, and she can use her hand well again.”