Poe Chit Linn
Poe Chit Linn’s mother first noticed her son’s heart problem when he was 8 months old. He was not well at the time and had a fever, diarrhea, he was very tired and had difficulty breathing. She brought him to Pho Phra Hospital (on the Thai side of the Thai-Burma border), where they diagnosed him with heart disease. She came to Mae Tao Clinic (in Mae Sot, also on the Thai-Burma border) to try and get treatment, as she could not afford the cost of the Thai hospital. However, she did not return to the clinic until last month to try again to get her child the treatment he needs. The medic at Mae Tao Clinic referred the child to Mae Sot Hospital (the clinic pays for the referral), and there they referred Poe Chit Linn to Chiang Mai for heart surgery as the hospital does not have the facilities for this surgery.However, there is no way Poe Chit Linn’s family can afford the cost of treatment in Chiang Mai. He has 2 older brothers (8 and 16) and 2 older sisters (7 and 12), and a younger brother (1 ½). Both Poe Chit Linn’s parents work. They do odd jobs, but do not have work every day. They earn about 80-100 Thai Baht (US$2.35-2.94) each per day/ When they are at work, their 7 year old daughter cares for the younger children. Poe Chit Linn’s 12 year old sister and 8 year old brother both live and go to school in Burma with their aunty. Their 16 year old son also works with them.
Poe Chit Linn parents came to live in Thailand from Burma 5 years ago to find work as they did not earn enough money in Burma for the family to live on.
Poe Chit Linn’s mother says that she worries a lot for her child. He is sick often and she does not have enough money to look after him and she has to go out to work to feed her family. His mother hopes he can get better. She says that she will try to send him to school so that he can get an education and do whatever he wants to in life.
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