A couple from Tanzania visited our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH), with their adorable newborn baby boy. Their two-day-old baby was born with clubfoot of both feet, which is a condition in which the foot is twisted out of shape. This condition can cause difficulty walking or wearing shoes. The couple is concerned that their son may have difficulty walking in the future as he grows, and they are seeking assistance with surgery. The baby's father works full-time at a timber factory and shared that his income only covers their basic needs. They are overjoyed with their new son and are hopeful he'll receive the care he needs. Fortunately, AMH can help! On November 4th, surgeons will perform clubfoot repair surgery that will allow the baby to walk easily and wear shoes as he grows up. AMH is requesting $935 to fund this procedure. Rebecca, the baby's mother, shared, “I am glad to know that my baby’s condition is treatable.”

Yves is a young man from Haiti. He lives with his parents and sister in a neighborhood of Port-au-Prince; they have been caring for him since he fell ill about five years ago. Prior to his illness, he worked as a clerk for a local business. Yves has a cardiac condition called severe rheumatic mitral insufficiency. One of the four valves of his heart was severely damaged by a rheumatic fever that he suffered a number of years ago, and cannot adequately pump blood through his heart and body. The care Yves is not available anywhere in Haiti, so Yves will fly to Dominican Republic to receive treatment. On September 12th, he will undergo cardiac surgery, during which surgeons will remove his damaged valve and implant an artificial replacement. Haiti Cardiac Alliance is contributing $9000 to pay for surgery. Yves's family also needs help to fund the costs of surgery prep and travel. The $1,500 bill covers labs, medicines, and checkup and followup appointments. It will also pay for the social workers from our medical partner, Haiti Cardiac Alliance, who will accompany Yves's family overseas, and the cost of obtaining Yves' passport. Says Yves: "I am hopeful that I can get back to a healthy and independent life once my heart problem is fixed!"

Regina is a small-scale farmer from Kenya. She rears cattle on a rented piece of land. She has two cows from which she gets milk for sale. Her husband is unemployed, and the income Regina earns is not sufficient to cater to all the family's needs. Regina first experienced a painful lump in her right breast in early August when she was taking a shower. She immediately went to a local health facility for a check-up and was later referred to a local government hospital in Olkalau town, situated several kilometers from her home. She has since had several tests including a mammogram and a CT scan. The result revealed the presence of cancerous cells. She opted to visit Kijabe Hospitals’s breast clinic after a referral by a friend. After a review, doctors recommended a partial mastectomy and she needs financial assistance to go through the surgery. Without treatment, the cancer may spread to other organs. The mastectomy, a surgery to remove breast tissue, aims to rid her body of breast cancer and to prevent the cancer from metastasizing. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $1110 to cover the cost of a mastectomy for Regina. The procedure is scheduled to take place on November 2nd. After treatment, Regina will hopefully return to a cancer-free life. Regina says, “This is shocking, but I know God will give me strength to overcome the cancer.”

Heng is a 16-year-old student from Cambodia in the 11th grade. His father is a roof builder and his mother stays at home. He has two older sisters who live at home, but have finished school and work outside of the home. In his free time, Heng enjoys reading books, exercising, fishing, and listening to music. At school, he likes math and would like to go into Information Technology. In June 2022, Heng was in a motorcycle collision where he fractured his right shoulder, femur, and hand, as well as both clavicles and several facial bones. His family took him to a local government hospital for surgery, but five months later, he still cannot move his right shoulder, elbow, wrist, or fingers. He has been diagnosed with a brachial plexus injury on his right side. The brachial plexus is a nerve network that transmits signals from the spine to the shoulder, arm, and hand. Injuries to this nerve network can result in loss of function and sensation. Heng has difficulty with daily tasks, feels poorly, and has stopped going to school due to his injury. Fortunately, our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), is helping Heng receive treatment. He traveled to CSC's care center, the only center in Cambodia where the required treatment is available. On November 14th, he will undergo a brachial plexus repair surgery. After recovery, he hopes to move his shoulder and use his hand. Now, he needs help raising $709 to fund his procedure and care. Heng's mother shared, "we hope Heng will recover and use his shoulder and arm again after surgery."

Teddy is a 64 year old retired teacher, living with her husband in Uganda. Both Teddy and her husband work as small scale farmers, planting beans and potatoes, primarily for their own, personal consumption. For the past five years, Teddy has been having lower abdominal pains that are relieved temporarily by medication. She also experiences nausea and headaches almost all of the time. As her pains have recently increased in severity, Teddy decided to seek treatment at Rushoroza Hospital, where she was diagnosed with uterine fibroids. Teddy has had to stop working due to her ongoing symptoms, and she cannot raise the money to cover the costs of the hysterectomy that the doctors have told her that she needs. ur medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is seeking $319 for Teddy's procedure, which is scheduled to take place on December 2nd, at Rushoroza Hospital. Teddy looks forward to being able to resume living and working, free from her current pain and symptoms. Teddy says: “I finally have hope of living a normal life once again. I pray for a successful surgery so that I may be able to continue with farming and my life."

Savith is a cheerful 9-year-old and the only child of parents who are rice farmers. Savith is in second grade, and his favorite subject is math. In his free time, he enjoys playing with toys with his friends, painting, and watching cartoons on TV. At home, he likes to eat traditional Khmer noodles and drink milk. Six years ago, Savith received a poorly administered injection when he was ill, causing his quadriceps muscle, tendons, and the skin on his right leg to contract. He is unable to fully straighten his leg and it has become difficult for him to walk or to run. He limps and his parents are worried that he is ridiculed by other children. When Savith's family learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, they traveled for three hours seeking treatment. On October 3rd surgeons at CSC will perform a quadricepsplasty, or surgical procedure to release the quadriceps muscle of his right leg to give him improved mobility and help him to walk easily. Now, Savith needs help to fund this $482 procedure. Savith told us: "I hope I can walk better and can keep up with my friends at school."

William is a small-scale farmer from Kenya. He is a married man with twelve children. Some of his oldest children are married while others are still in school. William and his family live in a semi-permanent house. He has been a long-term potato farmer who has been growing them mainly for sale. His family has worked on their farm and it has contributed a lot to their income. Through the limited income William makes, he has been able to provide for his children's basic needs. William has medical insurance that he has been using throughout all his visits for inpatient and outpatient services for his medical procedures. In May 2019, when William was walking along the road, he was hit by a motorbike and he fell down, thus injuring his lower limb. Immediately, he was taken to a facility where he was admitted and surgery was done.  All was well up to last year when he started feeling unwell and decided to visit our partner's hospital. He presented with a lot of pain, he had a wound that was discharging pus, and his affected limb was swollen. An x-ray was recommended and it found that he had a non-union on his fractured bone and he had to be admitted for hardware removal, as it was already infected. He went to the operating theater for infected hardware removal and antibiotic nailing was done in order to treat his infection.  Since the nail was not stable, a patella tendon-bearing cast was applied in order to immobilize his non-united fracture. He has been in and out of the hospital for frequent check-ups, change of dressing, and casts. The wound has not improved and at some time after the antibiotic nailing, he went to the operating room for debridement and vacuum-assisted closure of the wound to help in healing and daily dressing change has been done in a health facility near his home. He also suffered eye problems in between and can barely see at the moment. On Monday when he came for review, his wound was not well and had a foul smell. His hardware needs to be removed, the non-union has to be taken down and a procedure will be done for stability. He was prepared for admission, but then it was realized that he had exhausted his inpatient insurance limit. In order to save his leg, it is vital to perform the surgery immediately. William has no alternative way of paying for his procedure, which is very complex. Fortunately, surgeons at our medical partner can help. On December 7th, William will undergo a fracture repair procedure that will help William to be able to walk normally and continue with farming to provide for his family. Now, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $679 to fund this medical care. William says, "Spending most of the time in the hospital has been quite challenging. I cannot work or supervise my work as I did before because of my fractured limb. I am really looking forward to getting better in order to stabilize my family again. Please help me."

Maureen is a hard working stay-at-home mother. She is a beautiful and ever-smiling mother of eight from Kiambaa in Kiambu. She is currently unemployed due to medical issues after having a C-section to deliver her last born in 2020. In November Maureen tripped and fell in her house while going about her daily chores. She felt excruciating pain in her left hand and was taken to a hospital in Ruaka. An x-ray confirmed a fracture on her left arm and she was recommended surgery in order to heal her condition. She is in a lot of pain and cannot use her left hand. Fortunately, surgeons at our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, can help. On December 1st, Maureen will undergo a fracture repair procedure, called an open reduction and internal fixation. She will heal well and be able to use her hand again. Now, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $1,049 to fund her procedure. “I am glad there is the hope of treatment. The thought of being unable to use my left hand to go about my daily chores scares me,” Maureen remarked with a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

Alex is a sweet baby from Kenya and the youngest in his family of five children. His parents own livestock but, because of an ongoing drought, they have had to sell some of their livestock to provide food for the family. Alex has been diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a condition in which excess cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the brain and increases intracranial pressure. As a result of this condition, Alex has been experiencing an increasing head circumference. Without treatment, Alex will experience severe physical and developmental delays. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH), is helping Alex receive treatment. On November 16th, he will undergo a procedure to drain the excess fluid from his brain, which will decrease intracranial pressure. This treatment will help Alex as he develops into a strong, healthy young boy. AMH is requesting $720 to cover the cost of this surgery. Alex’s mother says: “It has been a very hard time for me as I have to stay with him all the time because of his condition. I want to help in the provision for my children.”

Hser is a 38-year-old woman who lives with her parents in a refugee camp in Tak Province, Thailand. She and her family fled there many years ago from Karen State in Burma because of civil war. Hser is now a high school teacher in the refugee camp, and she earns 1,000 baht (approx. 33 USD) per month. Hser used to teach groups of students at their home due to Covid restrictions that closed schools in July 2021, but all home teaching was also stopped in September 2021 when Covid cases increased in the refugee camp. Since then, Hser teaches students online, but many of her students cannot afford to pay for mobile data to study from their family’s mobile phones. Since late 2019, Hser has been experiencing pain in the right side of her abdomen every day, especially at night. She says that she has lost her appetite and has lost some weight because of this. She feels like the mass is gradually increasing in size and feels more comfortable lying down then sitting. She also feels tired when she walks. She has been diagnosed with an ovarian tumour, and has been advised to undergo a total abdominal hysterectomy, which involves surgical removal of her uterus and cervix. If left untreated, Hser's symptoms will continue to worsen and put her at risk for further health complications in the future. Fortunately, Hser is scheduled to undergo her hysterectomy on November 9th. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1,500 to cover the total cost of her procedure and care. Once recovered, this treatment will help Hser to live free from pain and she has hope that she'll be able to live her life happily with her parents in the future. Hser said, “I love being a teacher and when I have recovered, I will continue to teach. My parents worry about me a lot and they want me to receive surgery as soon as possible. They are stressed about my condition, but I do not want to feel stressed because stress cannot help me feel better. So even though I cannot eat a lot, I try to eat as much as I can to stay strong.”

Dennis is a nine-year-old student. He's the youngest of four children in his family and is in grade six at school. Sadly, his mother passed away several years ago and his father was unable to take care of him. He now lives with a neighbor, who is his guardian. He enjoys playing football and other games in school, although his condition makes it difficult. Dennis was born with clubfoot of both feet, a condition in which the feet are twisted out of shape causing difficulty walking and even wearing shoes. He experiences pain and difficulty walking, and cannot wear shoes. He is unable to play games, like football, which he enjoys. Fortunately, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH), is helping Dennis receive treatment. On November 22nd, he will undergo clubfoot repair surgery at AMH's care center. After treatment, he will be able to walk well, wear shoes, play with friends and continue with his studies. Now, they need help raising $1,286 to fund his procedure and care. Dennis shared, "I would love to have my feet corrected so that I can walk well and play with my friends."

Sami is a 45-year-old farmer. She's married and lives with her husband and sister, who also work as farmers. In her free time, Sami likes to watch the news and movies on TV and spend time at her local pagoda. This has all gotten harder for her as about a year ago, Sami developed a cataract in her left eye. As a result, she has difficulty seeing things clearly or recognizing faces, feeding herself, or going anywhere outside. When Sami learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), she traveled for four and a half hours seeking treatment. On December 2nd, doctors will perform cataract surgery and an intraocular lens implant in her left eye. After recovery, she will be able to see clearly. CSC is requesting $229 to fund Sami's procedure. Sami shared, "I hope after surgery I can see clearly again. I can go back to the rice field to help my husband and do more around our house to help."