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Thein Nyi Ko – 4 months old

 Growth between the eyes

A week after the joyful birth of Thein Nyi Ko, her mother Ma Pyay Aung discovered a red colour between her eyes. Ma Pyay Aung was concerned about this, but she didn’t have any resources to take her child to a doctor. A week later an abnormal growth developed on the same spot and her father, Saw Han Htun, took her child to see a monk, because of their lack of money. The monk told him Thein Nyi Ko will be fine and that they shouldn’t worry. Unfortunately the growth didn’t go away and she was able to get some money to go to a doctor in Burma. He told her he wasn’t able to help her and she should go to Rangoon. They simply didn’t have enough money to go to Rangoon and felt very depressed about their daughter´s situation.

Because of the lack of work in Burma, Saw Han Htun fled to Bangkok in the hope of finding work to support his family. He was able to make a living in Bangkok, separated from his wife, and earns money by delivering ice to different stores. Per month he makes about 5000 Baht (151 us dollar), and with this money he has to support himself in Bangkok and his wife and child in Burma.        

In October Ma Pyay Aung spoke to a former eye patient from Mae Tao Clinic who told her that the BCMF might be able to help her with Thein Nyi Ko. Luckily Ma Pyay Aung could now afford the trip to Mae Tao Clinic and with a bit of hope again she arrived at the clinic in the middle of December. Right now she is very concerned because the growth starts to get larger and already Thein Nyi Ko has problems using on eye. Ma Pyay Aung is very afraid that both Thein Nyi Ko’s eyes will be closed off if nothing can be done.

Ma Pyay Aung isn´t only concerned about her vision, but about her physical appearance as well. In her village Thein Nyi Ko is seen as a curiousity, a freak. There is a lot of gossip going on and people tell that she´s ugly and make fun of her. Ma Pyay Aung is afraid that when Thein Nyi Ko will grow up, she´ll get isolated, people will start to bully her and she will become very depressed.  Ma Pyay Aung and Saw Han Htun hope their daughter will be able to lead a normal live with her peers. That Thein Nyi Ko will be able to go to school and have all the opportunities her parents didn´t have when they grew up.

Together with cardiac and gastro problems, abnormal growth is one of the most common medical problems children and their parents face. Sometimes it isn’t harmful and the child will be able to live his or her life without treatment (often as a social outcast), but often the growth  will get larger during childhood or early adolescence. Another complication which can occur is that the growth gets infected, which can lead to blood poisoning. This is especially dangerous when it’s close to the brain.