Save Burmese Refugee Children with Heart Disease.

This year your financial support has given two Burmese youths a new start in life. Below are their stories as sent by the Burma Children Medical Fund...

One is an 18-year-old girl who lives with her parents, sister and brother-in-law in Yangon, Burma. Her sister works at a clothing factory while her brother-in-law works as a day labourer. Her parents are homemakers. She also used to be a factory worker until she stopped two months ago because of her condition. Their combined income of 320,000 kyat (approx. 320 USD) is not enough to cover their daily expenses. Currently, they have a debt with 20 percent interest that they borrowed to pay for her medical expenses.

When she was four years old, she got high fever and was brought to the local clinic. She received an injection, and the doctor told her parents that she was born with a heart problem. However, she was too younger to receive surgery at that time. They received medication to give her, and they returned home. After that she never experienced any symptoms related to her heart condition until 2022.

In April 2022, she experienced chest pain, high fever and difficulty breathing. She went to a clinic and received an x-ray and an echocardiogram (echo). After the doctor checked her results, she was diagnosed with patent ductus arteriosus, where there is an opening between two major blood vessels leading from the heart. The doctor told her that she would need to have surgery and that it would cost 6,000,000 kyat (approx. 6,000 USD). When she told the doctor that she could not afford to pay for surgery, the doctor told her to contact the abbot of a monastery nearby, who could help her find a donor. The doctor then gave her their phone number. After she called the number, she was told to come to the monastery to meet the abbot in person. On 25 May 2022, she and her parents went to the monastery. After they talked to the abbot and explained that they could not afford to pay for her surgery, the abbot referred her to Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF) for assistance accessing further treatment. Currently, she feels tired, has chest pain and difficulty breathing. Sometimes, she has a fever and will cough at night. She has little appetite, and she cannot sleep well because she is very worried about her condition. She said, “I am scared to receive surgery, but my mother tries to encourage me. However, I am very happy that I will be able to receive treatment [with your help]. I would like to say thank you so much to all the donors.”

She likes to watch TV with her family and likes to help her mother with household chores such as cleaning her house. Once she has recovered, she will go back to work with her sister and support her family.

He is a 16-year-old boy who lives in his school’s dormitory with 115 other students at Love and Care Learning Center in Mae Pa Village, Mae Sot District, Tak Province, Thailand. He is in grade 12 and receives a full scholarship. However, he has been unable to study since the middle of July 2022, when his health deteriorated. His mother lives with their pastor, who supports her. She will usually accompany the pastor when the pastor is invited to hold home prayers. While he is unwell, she has taken care of him. Currently, they are being supported by his teacher while he receives treatment.

Around the middle of June 2022, Htun started to experience difficulty breathing, joint pain and swelling in his joints. About five to seven days after his symptoms first started, he experienced severe pain in his joints whenever he tried to walk. On 26 June 2022, his teacher brought him to Mae Tao Clinic (MTC), where a medic completed a physical examination and gave him medication. The medic only told him to come back if he did not feel any better. After he took the medication, his joint pain lessened, and he felt better for a few days. However, soon the pain returned, and he also experienced heart palpitations. his teacher had to bring him back to the clinic.

Soon after, he was brought back to MTC by his teacher. He received an ultrasound of his chest and a blood test. When his blood test result came in, he was diagnosed with arthritis. He was told that he would need monthly injections and was told to come back in August 2022. After he received the injection, he felt better. He was in less pain, he felt less tired, and he was able to walk without discomfort. Around that time, his teacher arranged for him and his mother to stay in a house in Mae Sot, so that they could be closer to MTC.

On 14 August 2022, he received another injection. This time, his joint pain returned around 10 days after he received the injection. His heart palpitations also worsened and became more frequent. However, he did not go back to MTC right away and instead waited for his follow-up appointment in September 2022. By the time he returned to MTC for his follow-up appointment on 22 September 2022, his joint pain was so severe that his mother had to support him when he walked. When the medic saw him, he was admitted right away. He was placed on oxygen and given a blood transfusion. When a doctor came to check on him, he was told that he would need to see a cardiologist. The doctor also told him that he would need to receive an echocardiogram (echo) at Mae Sot Hospital that would cost 3,000 baht (approx. 100 USD). When his mother told the medic that they have no money to pay for the echo or his treatment, the medic referred Htun to Burma Children Medical Fund for financial assistance accessing treatment.

Currently, he feels tired, has rapid breathing and shortness of breath. He experiences pain and swelling in his joints, making walking difficult and painful. He can only sleep propped up by pillows because he experiences difficulty breathing if he sleeps flat on his back. He also has difficulty eating as he feels short of breath when swallowing food. “Now my mother has to look after me and she has no time to do what she did before [helping the pastor],” said Htun. “I also had to stop studying [since the middle of July].”

His favourite subject at school is sciences. In the future, he wants to continue his studies. “I want to become an electric engineer [in the future] because I enjoy repairing and making things,” he said.