Hell May Say
Three years ago, Hell May Say started to show symptoms of cardiac disease. She was very tired, had difficulty breathing and cyanosis and could not eat. She went to the local hospital in Kyaung Gyi, Burma with her father and there the doctor told them she had a heart problem. The doctor gave her some medicine and she returned many times for a follow up to get more medicine. However, even with the medicine her condition was not improving. After 3 years, the family decided to take her to Mae Tao Clinic (MTC). Friends had told them about the clinic and said the clinic would help her for free. It took them 2 days to get to Mae Sot and cost them 30,000 Kyat (US$30). When Hell May Say was 2 years old, her mother developed a fever and died. Her father and grandmother have cared for her ever since. Her father is a farmer for a living and every day he goes out to find work on other people’s land. He earns 30,000 Kyat (US$30) a year. Hell May Say is in 7th Standard at school in Burma, however, this year she has not been able to attend as she is too ill. She says she wants to go back to school. At school, her favourite subject is reading. She says that she gets very sad because she cannot play like all the other children and this is why she likes to stay alone and read.
Her father says that he hopes his daughter can get better so that she can continue to go to school and become a doctor or a teacher. He says that without an education she will not be able to do much with her life and at the moment she is too ill too study. Hell May Say says that she would like to be a teacher so that she can help the poor children in Burma.
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