Hnin Si Paw
Hnin Si Paw’s mother noticed her child’s health problem when she was 2 years old. At the time, Hnin Si Paw had difficulty passing urine, and she also had abdominal pain and a fever. She gave the child traditional medicine and she got better. However, a few months later she felt the child’s stomach and noticed that she had an abdominal mass. She says that the mass got bigger and bigger and the child would sometimes be in pain. When the child did not get better, she brought her to Mae Tao Clinic. At the clinic, a medic sent Hnin Si Paw to Mae Sot Hospital for investigations several times. However, the doctor at Mae Sot Hospital told her they could not help her child and told her she would need to go to Chiang Mai Hospital for surgery. Hnin Si Paw’s family are from Burma. Her mother brought her to Mae Tao Clinic on the 23rd of April, 2009 and they have being staying in the clinic patient house for two months while they waited for her diagnosis from Mae Sot Hospital. Like many patients from Burma that come to MTC, Hnin Si Paw’s family cannot afford the treatment in Chiang Mai, let alone navigate the legal obstacles they face traveling without ID in Thailand.
Hnin Si Paw’s mother says that it is so difficult for her to get the child treatment as she has four other children at home who have no one with them to care for them. However, she says she will stay away to get her youngest child the treatment she needs. Hnin Si Paw’s mother says she is very sad because she is also worried about her other children who are living at home, but she wants to get her child treatment and so will stay away for as long as she has to. The other children (aged 15-7) will take care of themselves and their auntie will also help them when they need it.
Hnin Si Paw’s father has been working in Bangkok for two years and he earns 4000 baht a month. Her mother takes care of her children at home and her father sends money to the family every three months. This covers their cost of living and pays for the children’s schooling. All the children go to school, but the older one can not go this year because she needs to look after her younger siblings while her mother is away with Hnin Si Paw. Hnin Si Paw’s mother says she will wait at Mae Tao Clinic until her child finishes treatment because it is so difficult for her to get to Mae Tao Clinic in the rainy season.
Hnin Si Paw’s mother says she only wants to see her child get better. It is so difficult for her to get treatment and if her child gets better she wants her to continue her schooling. When we ask Hnin Si Paw what she would like to do when she is better, she says that she would like to go back to school.
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