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Thu Ya Soe

Thu Ya Soe is 12 years old and has heart disease. He lives in Kaw Ka Rate in Burma. He has  His parents divorced 10 years ago. His father lives in Kaw Ka Rate, inside Burma, and his mother lives in Myawaddy, on the Thai-Burma border. His parents have both remarried. Thu Ya Soe was living with his father, but when he became ill he went to stay with his mother in Myawaddy.  When he lived with his father, Thu Ya Soe attended school, but he has not gone to school this year as he has been too sick.  Thu Ya Soe has an older sister who is married, an older brother who lives and works with his mother in Myawaddy, and a younger sister who lives with her father in Burma and goes to school.

His mother says they first noticed her child’s health problem this year, a few months a go. At the time, Thu Ya Soe started to get a cough and fever, and he had difficulty breathing and was tired when he played. His father took him to a local clinic in Burma. The doctor there told his father the child has a heart problem and that he would need to go to Rangoon Hospital.  Thu Ya Soe’s father told him to come to Myawaddy and ask his mother for help.  His mother brought him to another clinic in Myawaddy. The doctor there also told her the child has a heart problem and told her go to Rangoon Hospital, but she could not afford it.  Many of her friends told her to bring the child to Mae Tao Clinic instead.  At Mae Tao Clinic he was referred to the local hospital (Mae Sot Hospital) straight away and was admitted there for one month as he was so ill.  The doctor there advised that he would need to go to Chiang Mai for surgery.

Thu Ya Soe’s mother sells dry food in Myawaddy and she earns 100,000 kyat per month, but she needs to pay for everything for her family out of this money. His mother says it is very difficult for her family as she does not have enough money to pay for her son’s treatment and she is worried he will get worse and worse throughout his life.

Thu Ya Soe says he feels tired when he walks and plays. He also has a cough and difficulty breathing and he is not eating well. His mother says that she hopes he gets well and that he can get an education and do whatever he wants when he is older.  Thu Ya Soe is no longer attending school because he is not well. Thu Ya Soe says he does not know what he will do in the future, but he says he wants to continue his education.