Adrian's Story

Adrian joined Watsi on March 12th, 2013. Six years ago, Adrian joined our Universal Fund, supporting life-changing treatments for a new Watsi patient every month. Adrian's most recent donation supported Hatsumi, a 19-month-old baby from Bolivia, for heart surgery.

Impact

Adrian has funded healthcare for 82 patients in 13 countries.

patients you have funded

Tin is a 45-year-old man. Originally from Burma, he fled to Thailand over 20 years ago due to civil war. He currently lives with his wife, who works as a street vendor selling various snacks and vegetable, and one of his daughters, who is currently in school. His family also raises chickens, which they sell when they need cash. Tin previously worked as a farmer and a construction worker, but he has recently been unable to work due to his condition. In the future, he hopes to go back to work and help support his family. After an incident that occurred this past April that caused him to be hit in the left eye by a mango, Tin lost his vision in that eye and began to experience headaches, swelling, severe eye pain, and dizziness when attempting to stand. Tin eventually sought medical attention at a clinic. There, a medic checked his left eye, gave him a bottle of eye drops, and told him to seek treatment at Mae Tao Clinic (MTC) since they could not treat him there. However, he did not go to MTC right away due to financial constraints. He instead hoped that his eye would recover over time with the help of eye drops. Although his pain was temporarily reduced, the bruising disappeared, and the swelling went down over time, he never regained his vision. The pain in his eye eventually returned, and he noticed that he had a white spot on his left pupil. As the white spot increased in size, his eye progressively became more painful and began to itch. He now experiences discharge and watering in his eye, as well as difficulty sleeping. At the beginning of this month, a small lump appeared near the white spot on his left pupil. The lump gradually increased in size until it bursted on August 13th. After the discharge and bleeding from the lump stopped, he asked his friend to take him to MTC right away. When he arrived at the clinic, he was told to come back on Monday since there were not any eye specialist medics working on the weekend. When Tin returned on Monday, a medic examined his left eye, and he was diagnosed with corneal perforation, a condition resulting from the cornea being penetrated and damaged. Tin was also told that his eye is infected. He now must undergo surgery at our medical partner's care center, Mae Sot General Hospital, to remove his left eye as quickly as possible before the infection spreads to his right eye. Fortunately, Tin was referred to our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF), for financial assistance accessing treatment. On August 17th, surgeons at our medical partner's care center will perform an enucleation to remove his left eye. Now, BCMF is requesting $1,500 to fund Tin's life-changing procedure. Tin shares, “I feel very depressed and worried about my eye. I can’t imagine what my life would be like if I lost vision in both of my eyes. I want to receive surgery quickly to prevent my right eye from becoming infected. Without your help, I don’t think I would be able to receive further treatment. Therefore, I want to say thank you to the donors and the organization for agreeing to support my treatment costs.”

$1,500raised
Fully funded

Biniayam is a musically-inclined 17-year-old from Ethiopia. Some of his favorite activities include playing football, the piano, and the keyboard, as well as eating his favorite dish: meat! He comes from a family of seven children. To support their family, his father works as a farmer, and his mother manages their home and cares for her children. Two of his siblings are currently working, and the rest attend school. Biniayam himself finalized his national grade eight examination last summer and passed well! Biniayam was born with hypospadias, a congenital condition that causes urinary dysfunction. Without treatment, he will continue to experience uncomfortable symptoms and be at risk of infertility. His parents sought medical care for him after he was born, but due to financial constraints, he was not able to receive any treatment. They have since visited other hospitals but have still been unable to receive any help. Biniayam shares that he is worried and concerned about his condition. He mentioned that it not only affects him physically, but also psychologically, causing him to experience stress in many situations. Fortunately, Biniayam is now scheduled to undergo corrective surgery on July 19th. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $1,293 to cover the total cost of his procedure and care. Biniayam shares, “After the surgery, I hope this will be corrected and I will be confident to bathe in front of other members of the family without any fear. I also hope I won’t fear going to the restroom in public toilets. I hope I will be happy and have children in the future.”

$1,293raised
Fully funded

Hla is a 40-year-old woman living with her husband and adopted daughter in a refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border. Hla and her family fled their village in Burma, due to fighting in the area. In January, Hla learned that she was pregnant for the first time after ten years of marriage. Then in March, Hla had to flee with her husband and daughter due to the fighting near her village. They moved in with her uncle, who lives in a refugee camp. Once there, she sought prenatal care at a clinic in the camp, where she was told that she had a breech baby, which would require a Caesarean section in order for her baby to be delivered safely. The C-section is scheduled for May 11th at nearby Mae Sot Hospital (MSH). When Hla told a friend that she does not have the money to pay for her hospital stay, her friend referred her to our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF), for help with paying for her care. Currently, Hla is eight months pregnant and is worried about her condition and the health of her baby. Burma Children Medical Fund is seeking $1,500 to cover the costs of Hla's treatment, and for the safe delivery of her baby. Hla said, "I was very worried when I heard that I will need an expensive C-section. I could not think of anyone to help pay for my surgery, and I felt stressed about giving birth through a C-section. After I heard from BCMF staff that donors could help pay for my surgery, I started to feel so much more relaxed and less worried. I still worry about my baby being born healthy."

$1,500raised
Fully funded