Remo's Story

Remo joined Watsi on October 8th, 2017. Five years ago, Remo joined our Universal Fund, supporting life-changing treatments for a new Watsi patient every month. Remo's most recent donation traveled 4,800 miles to support Michael, a precious 20-month-old baby from Haiti, to fund the costs for heart surgery.

Impact

Remo has funded healthcare for 69 patients in 8 countries.

patients you have funded

Gedion is a happy and talkative 16-year-old from Kenya who is currently a student in standard eight. He is the thirdborn in a family of six. Since their mother left them a few years ago, he and his siblings live with their father in their rural home on a small piece of land. Gedion's father works as a casual laborer and burns charcoal for sale to provide for their family's basic needs, as well as to pay for the children's school fees. His family also plants maize and beans on their small piece of land to feed themselves. During holidays and on the weekends, Gedion and his siblings usually work on other people's farms to provide additional income. He shares that life for his family has been very difficult, but they have been working hard in order to fight poverty together. This past Saturday, Gedion was brought into our medical partner's care center, AIC Kapsowar Hospital, via an ambulance from a facility near his home after being involved in a road traffic accident. While Gedion was on his way home from a nearby shopping center, a tractor passed by. He hopped onto it in order to reach home faster since he was still far from home and it was already beginning to become dark. There were some people already on the tractor, so they continued with their journey together. While they were on their way, the tractor lost control and fell down. The people riding were all rushed to a nearby facility. While those with minor injuries were able to be treated at the local facility, three of the riders, including Gedion, had to be referred to our medical partner's care center. During the accident, he sustained a fracture of his right femur and is currently experiencing a lot of pain. He is also unable to use his leg. Fortunately, surgeons at our medical partner can help. On August 12th, Gedion will undergo a fracture repair procedure, which is called an open reduction and internal fixation. After treatment, he will be able to use his leg again, attend school, and help out at home. Now, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $1,145 to fund this procedure. Gedion shares, "This state has really pulled me down. I don’t know what to do. Kindly help me so that I may be able to pursue my dreams and change the state of my family.”

$1,145raised
Fully funded

Esther is an adorable two-year-old girl from Kenya who is the only child in her family. Her father used to work in a shop, but he unfortunately lost his job over three months ago. Her mother sells shoes in a local town center to help support their family. When she was seven months old, Esther began experiencing severe constipation, even going two weeks without passing stool. Her worried parents took her to four different hospitals and received different types of medication, which were all ineffective. Fortunately, one of her aunts heard about her condition and referred her to our medical partner's care center, Bethanykids Kijabe Hospital. At the hospital, Esther was examined and diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s disease, a condition that causes difficulty passing stool. She began treatment immediately and eventually underwent several surgeries to rectify her condition. These procedures were all funded by her family's insurance. One of the surgeries Esther underwent was a colostomy, in which the end of the colon is brought through an opening in the abdominal wall. This surgery is often performed to bypass bowel malformations, but colostomies are usually temporary and may call for closure. In Esther's case, her colostomy requires closure in order to restore bowel function and prevent future complications. However, her family is unable to fund this needed surgery, as their insurance rejected their funding request due to a depletion of funds. Fortunately, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), is helping Esther receive treatment. The surgery is scheduled to take place on July 25th and, once completed, will hopefully allow her to live more comfortably and confidently. AMHF is requesting $1,084 to cover the cost of a colostomy closure for Esther. Esther’s mother says, “As a family, we have gone through a lot with our daughter, but we are grateful to God that the treatment is almost over.”

$1,084raised
Fully funded

Simon is a 20-year-old who, since he was a little boy, he has worked selling goods at a nearby open market. He has no stable source of income and is currently unable to work due to his medical condition. His single mother is unable to support him. Fortunately, his friend is allowing him to stay in their single room close to the city market. Two years ago, Simon began experiencing pain in his left knee, causing him to limp as he walked. His pain eventually spread to his hip. He now cannot walk without a walking stick and has an infected hip and knee, which are limiting his mobility. After receiving a CT scan, Simon was diagnosed with septic arthritis, which is inflammation of a joint caused by an infection, and sequelae of the hip. In hopes to help his condition, Simon visited visited Kenyatta National Hospital. He has since been on medical follow-up for septic arthritis at the facility without any surgical intervention. He eventually had to stop attending the follow-up clinics due to a lack of financial resources. Fortunately, a friend told Simon about our medical partner's care center, and he traveled there to receive treatment. Now, Simon is scheduled to undergo a treatment on July 8th. This will hopefully finally help heal his condition and relieve his pain. Our medical partner is requesting $1,500 to fund his treatment. Simon shares, “I can barely move my leg without support from this walking stick. My hip is painful and my knee is just unbearable. I cannot work in my condition and therefore am struggling to survive.”

$1,500raised
Fully funded