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Success! Dar from Burma raised $1,500 to fund a colostomy so she can grow up healthy.

Dar
100%
  • $1,500 raised, $0 to go
$1,500
raised
$0
to go
Fully funded
Dar's treatment was fully funded on August 15, 2022.

Photo of Dar post-operation

November 1, 2022

Dar underwent a colostomy so she can grow up healthy.

Dar was only 21 days old when she underwent surgery to help her with a serious condition that affected her ability to eat and her abdomen. After surgery, Dar’s condition continues to improve and her appetite is better every day. She’s hungrier, gaining a healthy weight, and feeds better than before.

According to Dar’s mom, Win: “In the future we want her to become a health worker, so that she can help take care of her parents, relatives and other villagers the same way she is being taken care of by others right now.”

Dar was only 21 days old when she underwent surgery to help her with a serious condition that affected her ability to eat and her abdomen. A...

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April 28, 2022

Dar is a 21-day-old baby girl who lives with her parents and her brother in a village in the border area of Karen State in Burma.

Dar was born at home with the help of a traditional birth attendant. Two days after she was born, Dar’s mother noticed a problem when Dar was passing stool. She told Dar’s father to call a medic from the clinic to their home. The medic realized that Dar was born with a anorectal condition and shared with Dar’s mother that baby Dar would urgently need surgery to receive a colostomy.

Dar’s parents are subsistence farmers who grow rice and raise chickens. They also forage for vegetables in the jungle and go fishing when they want to eat fish. To purchase staples that they cannot produce such as salt and oil, Dar’s father works as an agricultural day labourer during the rainy season. However, since the rainy season has not yet begun, they currently have no income. However, their daily needs are fulfilled from living off the land. If they are sick and need to seek treatment, they go to the free clinic in their village run by Burma Medical Association (BMA).

Fortunately our medical partner Burma Children Medical Fund is helping Dar’s family access the medical care she needs. They need help raising $1,500 to fund the treatment she needs.

“We had to borrow money so far for Dar’s treatment and my husband cannot work,” said Dar’s mother. “I want to send my baby to school until she graduates so that she can become educated. I want this for her future because I only went to school until grade four. After she completes her studies, she can become whatever she wants one day.”

Dar is a 21-day-old baby girl who lives with her parents and her brother in a village in the border area of Karen State in Burma. Dar w...

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Dar's Timeline

  • April 28, 2022
    PROFILE SUBMITTED

    Dar was submitted by Bue Wah Say, Project Officer at Burma Children Medical Fund.

  • April 29, 2022
    TREATMENT OCCURRED

    Dar received treatment at Mae Sot General Hospital in Thailand. Medical partners often provide care to patients accepted by Watsi before those patients are fully funded, operating under the guarantee that the cost of care will be paid for by donors.

  • April 29, 2022
    PROFILE PUBLISHED

    Dar's profile was published to start raising funds.

  • August 15, 2022
    FULLY FUNDED

    Dar's treatment was fully funded.

  • November 1, 2022
    TREATMENT UPDATE

    Dar's treatment was successful. Read the update.

Funded by 32 donors

Treatment
Colostomy
  • Cost Breakdown
  • Diagnosis
  • Procedure
On average, it costs $2,010 for Dar's treatment
Subsidies fund $510 and Watsi raises the remaining $1,500
Hospital Fees
$925
Medical Staff
$402
Medication
$3
Supplies
$241
Labs
$86
Radiology
$278
Other
$75
  • Symptoms
  • Impact on patient's life
  • Cultural or regional significance

​What kinds of symptoms do patients experience before receiving treatment?

Unable to pass stool easily, bloated abdomen, the opening to the anus is missing or blocked.

​What is the impact on patients’ lives of living with these conditions?

When a baby is born with no anus or a blocked anus, the baby can't pass stool normally from his/her rectum out of their body. It causes the baby to refuse intake of milk as he/she can't pass the waste out of their body. Babies with this condition will become malnourished and if this can't be treated in time, can even lose their life. For those who were involved in an accident or damaged their bowel system, they also need to be considered for a colostomy while their bowel system is undergoing treatment. For those with colon cancers, colostomy is the safest way for them to pass out their waste, otherwise it may worsen their condition if they keep passing stool through their bowel system.

What cultural or regional factors affect the treatment of these conditions?

Though this procedure can be done at several hospitals, for many patients, this procedure is needed most urgently as without lifting a colostomy, a patients' life expectancy is shortened. For newborn babies, this procedure must be done within the first few days of life. The treatment is straight forward, but patients will need to reserve the colostomy once their bowel system is fixed. Many people fear of living with colostomy because it can be a big challenge for both the patient and their family.

  • Process
  • Impact on patient's life
  • Risks and side-effects
  • Accessibility
  • Alternatives

What does the treatment process look like?

It is a surgical procedure that brings one end of the large intestine out through the abdominal wall. During this procedure, one end of the colon is diverted through an incision in the abdominal wall to create a stoma. A stoma is the opening in the skin where a pouch for collecting feces is attached.

What is the impact of this treatment on the patient’s life?

With this treatment, patients will be able to pass stool easily through the opening in their abdominal wall. The patients will need to attach a bag or pouch to the stoma to collect their wastes and empty them regularly. However, patients will be able to eat and drink normally as they now have an outlet for their waste.

What potential side effects or risks come with this treatment?

There are a number of possible problems that a patient may experience after having a colostomy. Firstly, the patient may have some mucus discharge if their rectum and anus are intact. Another possible problem is a parastomal hernia, where the intestines push through the muscles around the stoma, resulting in a noticeable bulge under the skin. Some people may also develop a blockage in their stoma as the result of a build-up of food. Development of a long-lasting fever and infection may also happen.

How accessible is treatment in the area? What is the typical journey like for a patient to receive care?

This procedure can be done at most district and township hospitals where they have gastrointestinal surgeons. As this procedure needs to be done as quickly as possible, the majority of our patients include those who are born at the clinic where our office is located and those who are born at facilities across the border where they do not have appropriate equipment to perform this surgery.

What are the alternatives to this treatment?

There are not typical alternatives to this treatment. If the patient does not undergo this surgery as soon as possible, it can even cost their life.

Meet another patient you can support

100% of your donation funds life-changing surgery.

Meet another patient you can support

100% of your donation funds life-changing surgery.