Kyaw Myint age 39 years is from Karen State, Burma, where he lives with his wife and 4 children.

Kyaw Myint farms his own rice, raises chickens, grows vegetables for the family, and has his own pigs, but has to work as a day labourer several days a month, earning 4000 Kyat a day, to make ends meet. Earning barely enough, he sometimes has to borrow money for extra expences.

About 2 years ago Kyaw Myint started to have back pain and urinary problems, making him unable to work full time. After trying Traditional Medicine, which helped initially, he went to a local clinic and was prescribed medication but each visit cost 3000-8000, and he had to borrow money to pay.

On 28th May 2015 he attended Mae Tao Clinic, as he had heard that he could get free treatment there. He was in pain, could not lift heavy weights, and had a fever at that time, after initial tests he was diagnosed with Kidney Stones and sent to Maesot General Hospital for further investigation. They advised that surgery was necessary. He paid 1950 Baht for the Hospital services but could not afford the essential surgical procedure.

He was finally referred to BCMF who facilitated surgery through Mae Sot General Hospital. By delaying surgery his condition had deteriorated prior to entering hospital, and he had to have antibiotic treatment before he could have the operation to remove the Kidney Stones. He was in hospital a total of 27 days, and he said that while treatment and the hospital was very good he didn’t really understand what was happening because of language barriers, so he couldn’t ask questions or obtain details. He was also issued with several medications by the Hospital pharmacy and BCMF staff were able to clarify the instructions for taking it, and he will have to attend for follow up appointments.

Kyaw Myint says that after surgery he feels much better and is not suffering from any discomfort. His hopes for the future are that he can return to work as a farmer and day labourer  and earn enough to repay all the money he has borrowed (over 200,000 kyat (USD 200)), for his initial medical consultations in Mae Sot.

He also wants his children to finish their schooling.