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MI SOE 6 Years Old (During Treatment)

Mi Soe is a 6 year old little girl from the Burmese border town of Myawaddy across the Moei River from Mae Sot, Thailand. Her mother first brought her to Mae Tao Clinic in 2005, complaining of an abscess growing at the base of her spine. By this time it had grown so large that Mi Soe had difficulty walking and sleeping.

In Burma Mi Soe’s father is a mechanic and earns around 1500 kyat ($1.80) per day. This is barely enough for the family to survive, when the average cost of living in Burma is around 3000 kyat ($3.65) a day. Mi Soe’s mother, Pa Poa has not been able to work because she has to care for her daughter. Mi Soe’s father said that they were unable to access healthcare in Burma because it is too expensive.

Mi Soe was assessed by medics at Mae Tao Clinic and it was recommended that she be referred to Chiang Mai Hospital to diagnose the cause of the abscess and determine how best to treat it. Mae Tao Clinic however does not have the funding for referral surgery and the family could not afford to travel to Chiang Mai, let alone the hospital fees. Fortunately, her case was sponsored by ‘Operation Smile’ who generously provided all the funding for transport and for her surgery in Chiang Mai. The surgeons removed the growth from her back and she spent 5 months in Chiang Mai recovering.

Mi Soe can now walk and run without pain. She has two siblings aged 10 and 5 years and is looking forward to being able to play with them. Although she is 6 years old, she has not been able to start education because of the disruption of being admitted to and travelling to Chiang Mai. Mi Soe’s mother is looking forward to returning to her family as she has not been able to go home for 5 months.

Pa Poa said that her daughter is a lot happier now and can walk a lot easier. She is very giggly and is happy the lump has been removed, however it seems this is not the end of the ordeal quite yet. Mi Soe is still experiencing complications and has recently returned to Chiang Mai Hospital for a follow up consultation.

The surgery wound has recently reopened and there is fluid leaking from the wound. Hopefully by readmitting Mi Soe quickly, the open wound will not become infected and doctors can determine whether spinal fluid is leaking from it. Mi Soe has become incontinent and they are worried that her spinal chord or nerves may have been damaged. Mi Soe is scheduled to see a neurologist in September 2006 and is currently under observation at Chiang Mai Hospital.

Every day that Mi Soe is in hospital and every treatment and consultation she receives costs money. BCMF need support to ensure that cases like this that end up costing more than originally expected can be seen through to a satisfactory conclusion for the patient and their family.

After the follow up assessment and treatment Pa Poa and Mi Soe hope to return home to their family and live a normal life again. Pa Poa wanted to thank all the staff at Mae Tao Clinic and Chang Mai Hospital for helping her daughter.

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