Miss Chayuda Thongkham, 3 years old, is the only child of her father Athit and mother Pha Phon, who are Burmese. Her father is a Shan who works in a wood factory in Bo Thong District, Chonburi Province. He earns 196 baht per day and has to pay 700 baht per month for rent. The family’s living conditions are quite difficult. Her mother cannot read or write Thai. Nong Mon was born in Chonburi Province. At birth, she was normal and did not have any symptoms.
After that, she often got sick and her heart beat fast. When she was 5 months old, she went to see a doctor at Chonburi Hospital. It was found that she had a heart defect and needed surgery. The hospital sent her to the Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health. The hospital received support from the Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Foundation. In terms of medical expenses, the foundation sent Nong Mon to receive surgery at Kasemrad Prachachuen Hospital since she was 8 months old. The hospital scheduled the surgery about 3 times, but Nong Mon was sick all the time. Until she was 3 years old, she was healthy and ready. Therefore, she underwent surgery at Kasemrad Prachachuen Hospital on July 26, 2011, with assistance from Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Foundation, which supported all the expenses for the surgery because Nong Mon could not claim for medical treatment. Her mother said that at that time, she was very scared because Nong Mon had to undergo the surgery, which took 4-5 hours, but she could not stay because she had no place to stay in Bangkok. She had to go home first. However, she called the nurses to ask about her condition over the phone and they said that Nong Mon was safe. She was very happy, but she had to wait until the next morning to see her daughter. Nong Mon stayed in the hospital for about a week, and her condition gradually improved until she was able to return home to continue her recovery. Her parents and Nong Mon would like to thank the foundation and all the donors who helped pay for Nong Mon’s heart disease treatment, allowing her to have a new life like a normal child.
