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THAT PAI O 9 Years Old

Post-Surgery Profile

That Pai O is now ten years old and has finished his surgery in Chiang Mai thanks to sponsorship by Child’s Dream, an organisation working with children in Far East countries.

He was born at Mae Sot Hospital as his family come from Myawaddy. That Pai O developed a swollen abdomen and could not pass stool soon after birth, and was taken to Mae Sot hospital where doctors made a colostomy to enable him to pass stool through an opening in his abdominal wall.

That Pai O has been passing stool through his colostomy ever since he was born and life was becoming increasingly difficult for him as he matured. The colostomy needed to be cleaned several times a day to avoid infection and he was reliant on his mother to help him every time he needed to pass stool. This was embarrassing for a child his age and he suffered socially, resulting in low self confidence. He frequently developed fevers and regularly visited the clinic for treatment.

It was important that That Pai O had the colostomy reversal while the sphincter muscle and nerves in his anus were still alive and normal, otherwise he would never be able to pass stool normally.

That Pai O visited Chiang Mai 3 times. The first time he was x rayed and a tissue sample was taken. The second time he underwent surgery to close the colostomy and reconstruct the anal passage. He has just returned from his third visit to Chiang Mai, accompanied by his father, Aung Aung, and doctors are happy that he is doing well. He has one more final check up in Chiang Mai in August.

His father told me that his son is much happier. He can now pass stool normally and doesn’t need to rely on other people any more than any other child his age. His father can work now without worrying about his son and his mother is able to spend more time with her other two children, one daughter aged 3, and another son, aged 7.

Aung Aung told me that he hopes his son will be able to go to school now that he is better and will be able to go to higher education. In Burma, this costs a lot of money, but Aung Aung still hopes his son will somehow get the chance to do what he never could himself.

When I asked That Pai O how he felt now he had had the surgery, he shyly told me he was happy. He told me he can play with his friends and he is very happy to be able to play now. When I asked him what he wanted to do in the future he told me he wanted to be a doctor so that he can help sick people the way doctors have helped him.

Aung Aung told me that when he and his wife see their son happy, they are happy. They wanted to thank child’s dream for giving their son the chance to lead a normal life. He told me that they did not have the money to make their child better. They are very thankful that he was able to receive surgery through BCMF.

Pre-Surgery

That Pai O is 9 years old and lives with his family in Myawaddy, Burma. When Thait Pai O was born his parents lived in Thailand as migrant workers at a jewelry factory in Pho Pha. At the age of 1 month they noticed that That Pai O had a swollen abdomen and could not pass stool. They took him to Mae Sot Hospital for treatment. In the hospital they inserted a colostomy to enable him to pass stool through a hole in his stomach. His parent’s employer at the factory helped them to get That Pai O admitted to Mae Sot Hospital and paid for his treatment. In 2005 his parents became worried that they may be arrested for being migrant workers in Thailand and moved back across the border into Burma.

Last year they came to Mae Tao Clinic to get treatment for Thait Pai O because he had a bladder stone. Mae Tao Clinic were able to raise funds for Thait Pai O to have the bladder stone removed but neither the clinic nor Mae Sot Hospital could perform the bowel reconstruction to enable them to close the colostomy. His family was informed that Thait Pai O needed to be referred to Chiang Mai for surgery. However, they could not afford the surgery so Thait Pai O continued to live on with the colostomy. Both his parents work at the same factory in Myawaddy and earn 50 baht each a day ($1.60). This is just enough for food and housing.

Recently Thait Pai O has had fevers and he has been coming to the clinic every few months for treatment. The major problem is that he is now 9 years old and still has to pass stool through his stomach via the colostomy. This makes his life difficult. He and his mother clean his colostomy before he goes to school to try to avoid him pass stool while he is at school. However, this does not always go to plan. If he needs to pass stool during the day he has to leave school and walk 20 minutes to the factory that his mother works at and ask her to help him. He then has to walk 20 minutes back to school.

Thait Pai O and his family hope that he can have surgery to close his colostomy, which he has lived with his whole life. If he does not have reconstruction surgery soon then the sphincter muscle and the nerve will die and he will never be able to pass stool normally. As he gets older it is becoming more difficult for him socially to manage having to pass stool out of his stomach. It is also a constant battle to avoid infections in the opening in his stomach. His mother and father say that they may be able to borrow 5-6,000Baht from a family member working in Bangkok to go towards the surgery, but this is not enough. The family is waiting for a donor to donate money to the Burma Children's Surgery Fund to enable their son to finally have surgery to reconstruct a normal digestive system. They hope that their son can get better to be able to go to school without complications and  learn and continue his hobby of singing.

Child’s Dream have kindly agreed to sponsor That Pai O’s surgery

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