Naw Kwee is a 56-year-old woman who lives with her husband, three daughters and three sons in a refugee camp. She is a homemaker and her husband is retired. Five of their children go to school in the camp, and her second oldest son works as an agricultural day laborer.
Six years ago, Naw Kwee often went to the camp’s hospital run by Malteser International (MI) Thailand to receive treatment for urinary tract infections. In 2020, she was diagnosed with a right kidney stone. With the help of Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF), she underwent a round of laser treatment in 2021 at Chiang Mai Hospital. Unfortunately, the laser treatment was unsuccessful, so doctors inserted a nephrostomy tube three days later. This tube is passed from the back through the skin to the kidney where urine collects and temporarily drains the urine that is blocked. Naw Kwee felt a lot better afterwards, although she would still occasionally experience pain.
In November 2022, her condition worsened and she would have back pain more often. Currently, she will be in pain once or twice a week since she is taking medication. Sometimes, the pain is severe and she develops a fever which will last for a week. If she is in pain, she cannot sleep well and has a poor appetite. She cannot walk, and does not feel comfortable laying down when she is in pain. Doctors recommend that Naw Kwee have surgery to remove the kidney stone and her procedure is scheduled for January 20th. Now she needs help to pay the $1,500 requested for the treatment.
Naw Kwee said, “I have been suffering from this condition for so many years. I hope that I can receive surgery soon and recover fully so that I no longer need to travel back and forth to the hospital anymore. I hope that I will be free from pain and that I will be able to help my family with household chores such as cooking and cleaning the house. Thank you so much to all the kind people who are willing to help me.”