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Nai Noi

Pre-operation

Nai Noi is 20 years old and has constrictive pericarditis, this is a thickening of the wall of the heart that causes the constriction of blood flow to the body.  Nai Noi also has a massive swelling of the stomach which is linked to his heart problem.  The restricted blood flow to the body means that his body cannot process the fluids and his stomach cannot drain them.  

Nai Noi is from Kong Hein town, near Taunggyi, in Shan State, Burma.  As a child Nai Noi had Tuberculosis.  When he was 18 years old, Nai Noi had a high fever, swollen feet and yellow eyes. This lasted for about one and a half months.  He was seriously ill and was sent to Kong Hein Hospital in Burma, but the hospital was small and did not have adequate facilities to deal with his condition.  Nai Noi never really recovered and eventually his stomach began to swell.  His parents realized that he could not get help in Burma and so decided to try and take him across the border to Thailand to get help.   He entered into Thailand with his father in October 2008 and went directly to Chiang Mai.  

In Burma Nai Noi’s family are farmers in their village.  To get to Chiang Mai they had to borrow money from friends to pay for the journey.  In Thailand, his father found a job as a construction worker to try and pay the bills.  

Nai Noi says that he can walk normally, but cannot run and his stomach is becoming bigger and bigger each day.  When they got to Chiang Mai they went to Nakornpengh hospital.  There the nurses drained the water in his stomach, but they did not have enough money to pay the medical charges and so eventually the hospital could not treat him anymore.

When they first got to Thailand they had gone to the office of the Migrant Assistance Program (MAP) and when he was released from hospital they again approached MAP for assistance.  MAP gave them a place to stay at one of their safe houses and also contacted the Burma Adults Medical Fund and informed us of Nai Noi’s situation.  

His father worked in construction in Chiang Mai but could not earn enough money to help Nai Noi so decided to return to Burma.  He left Nai Noi with a relative in Chiang Mai and went back to Burma and got a job spraying pesticides on farms.  However, Nai Noi’s father died of respiratory complications from the pesticides.  Nai Noi’s mother and sister are still in Burma.  He says that if he is cured he wants to go back to Burma and helps his mother and younger sister.  He says he will work and look after his family.   

We estimate that Nai Noi’s surgery will cost approximately 120,000 Th Baht and are seeking donations to contribute to the cost of treatment.  

Post-Operation

 

Thanks to the generous support of the International Support Group (ISG), Nai Noi had a successful heart and lung operation in Chiang Mai on the 27th of April, 2009.  He says that the staff at the hospital treated him well.  They were friendly and took good care of him.  Since the operation, Nai Noi is breathing well.  He says that he is feeling good and he can eat normally again.  Before the operation, Nai Noi says that he felt so tired all the time.  However, he says within a few days of the operation this feeling vanished.

When asked what he thinks would have happened if he did not have this operation, Nai Noi says that he thinks he would definitely be dead. Now, he says, he is a man of hope and a useful man again and this makes him so happy. He says that his mother will definitely be happy when she hears the good news.  Nai Noi says that his family do not know about the successful operation yet because there is no phone in his village, but he says that he will contact them later. He says that all his family will be so happy.

Nai Noi’s immediate plans for the future are to stay in Chiang Mai until he is fully recovered and completes his schedule of hospital appointments (his next one is June 3rd).  Nai Noi says that he will stay in Chiang Mai with his brother who is also in Chiang Mai.  Nai Noi says that he wants to try and find some work now that he is well so that he can start repaying some debts. He says his family needs him fit and well so that he can work and support them in the future.  He says that before the operation his family thought that his situation was hopeless and he says it was difficult for them because he couldn’t work. He says, “I was a man of burden in their life. They tried to cure my disease in many ways (traditionally) using money, but it was in vein. They had no idea what to do with my disease.”  He is so grateful he has recovered and says that he would like to thank the donors so much, and all the people who have helped him.  Nai Noi says, “I will always remember their help for the rest of my long life. My mother will also thank the donors. I really have my future now.”

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