Naw Hser’s surgery was a success! Before undergoing treatment, she experienced many troubling symptoms, such as exhaustion, back and abdominal pain, poor appetite, weight loss, and an inability to sleep well. This caused Naw Hser and her family considerable stress. Since undergoing treatment, Naw Hser is happy to report that all of her symptoms are gone! She is able to look after her grandchildren and play with them without pain. She has also been able to resume her work and help around the house with cleaning and cooking, although her daughters still encourage her to rest as much as possible.

Naw Hser said, “Thank you very much for helping me. As we are refugees, I would never find the high amount of money to pay for my surgery. I pray for everyone who helped me receive this treatment. I am doing well now. I am 99% recovered and no longer have any old symptoms. Before I had severe back pain if I did any household chores but not anymore. Thank you very much to all the donors.”

Her youngest daughter also shared, “I couldn’t eat when my mother was in pain. I always worried that my mother would pass away. Now, we are all happy and very thankful to the doctors, organizations, and donors for helping my mother and saving her life.”

Naw Hser is a 47-year-old woman who lives with her older brother, her two daughters, two son-in-laws, two grandsons and one granddaughter in a refugee camp in Tak Province, Thailand. Everyone in Naw Hser’s family is currently unemployed since the outbreak of COVID-19 in late March 2020, when their refugee camp was placed under lockdown. Making things harder, the price of food has increased so the monthly 2,050 baht (approx. 68 USD) support they receive on a cash card is not enough to purchase necessities. By the end of each month, they have to purchase food from the shop on credit, which they try to pay back at the end of the month. They also grow vegetables in their neighbour’s garden, sharing the food they grow with them. This has made funding for medical care for their family very limited right now.

In early 2019, Naw Hser started to become very tired when she walked short distances. She also experiences back and lower abdominal pain almost every day. This has impacted her appetite and she has lost weight over the past year. She shared that she cannot sleep at night because of the pain and because of the stress she feels about her condition. She is worried it is not treatable and her family feels sad seeing her in pain.

Naw Hser has been diagnosed with uterine myoma. She has been advised by her doctor to undergo a total abdominal hysterectomy, the surgical removal of her uterus and cervix. If left untreated, Naw Hser’s symptoms will continue to worsen and put her at risk for further health complications in the future.

Fortunately, Naw Hser is scheduled to undergo her hysterectomy on January 25th. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1,500 to cover the total cost of her procedure and care. Once recovered, she will no longer experience pain and she will be able to get back to more of her normal life. Once Naw Hser recovers, she is looking forward to being able to live happily with her family as she wishes.

Naw Hser said, “I want to live happily with my children and look after my grandchildren. Now, my daughters do not want me to cook or wash clothes for my grandchildren anymore. They want me to rest because of my condition. They really feel sad when they see me in pain and sometimes, I also cannot control my tears when I see them cry. I really want to have surgery to recover.”