Danny's Story

Danny joined Watsi on July 25th, 2013. Six years ago, Danny joined our Universal Fund, supporting life-changing treatments for a new Watsi patient every month. Danny's most recent donation traveled 8,500 miles to support Caleb, a 3-year-old toddler from Kenya, to treat his clubfoot.

Impact

Danny has funded healthcare for 133 patients in 15 countries.

patients you have funded

Dollores is a hardworking 59-year-old woman from Philippines. She was an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher, and then worked as a call center agent. Unfortunately, in October 2022, she was dismissed from her job due to being medically unfit. Now, she lives with her daughter and family, and the sole breadwinner is her son-in-law, who works in finance. In June 2022, Dollores noticed a mass on her right breast. At her initial examination, she was told that the mass was benign, but in a follow-up biopsy, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Without treatment, the cancer may spread to other organs. A mastectomy, or a surgery to remove breast tissue, has been recommended to remove the cancer and prevent it from metastasizing. Fortunately, our medical partner, World Surgical Foundation Philippines (WSFP), is helping Dollores receive treatment. On January 7th, she will undergo a mastectomy at WSFP's care center. After treatment, Dollores will hopefully return to a cancer-free life. A portion of the cost of her treatment is being supported by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation. Dollores needs help raising $1,058 to cover the remaining cost of her procedure and care. Dollores shared tearfully, "your help brings relief to my heart and mind. This will ease my worries, especially about the medical bill. I believe that there's a reason why you're saving me, and that's for me to continue with my life. Thank you, WATSI and World Surgical Foundation Philippines! I hope to give back the help that you've given me."

34%funded
$368raised
$690to go

Regina is a 13-year-old girl from Kenya. She is the secondborn in a family of three children. Her parents separated a few years back, and she and all of her siblings currently live with their mother in their ancestral home. Regina’s mother practices small-scale farming to provide food for their family. Her mother shares that she previously ran a small kiosk in their hometown where she sold fruits, but she has been unable to sustain the business since Regina fell sick in June. They currently rely on Regina’s grandmother to help support them. Regina has been diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a condition in which excess cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the brain and increases intracranial pressure. As a result of her condition, Regina has been experiencing fevers and severe headaches. Although she and her family have been to different hospitals seeking treatment, they have not seen much change in her condition. Fortunately, they were referred to our medical partner's care center, BethanyKids Kijabe Hospital, where she will undergo surgery to treat her hydrocephalus. Without treatment, Regina would experience severe physical and developmental delays. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $720 to cover the cost of surgery for Regina. The procedure is scheduled to take place on August 17th and will drain the excess fluid from Regina's brain. This will reduce intracranial pressure and greatly improve her quality of life. With proper treatment, Regina will hopefully develop into a strong, healthy young girl. Regina’s mother says, “I am not happy that my child is in this condition. I want her to get well and bring back my happiness.”

$720raised
Fully 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