Phan Trần Bảo Trân is a 7-month-old baby, living with her parents and 5 siblings with youngest being 7-month and eldest 23-years). The family lives in a rented room in public housing complex of government. The family is in a very poor financial circumstance. The baby was suffering from a serious eye disease called “Corneal Ulcers”, which can be fatal for babies and in best case will lead to blindness if not treated immediately. Corneal Ulcer can be caused by either infection or lack of vitamin A. Considering how poor and unhygienic their living area is and their financial circumstance to afford nutritious food, we believe that both conditions have contributed to her eye condition.
The hospital in Bac Lieu could not treat this case due to lack of expertise, equipment, and special medication. Hence, the family was told to take the baby to Saigon Children Hospital for treatment and special medications. However, the family was in no condition to afford to send the mother and baby to Saigon and staying for treatments. Resulting delay in medical treatment of Phan Trần Bảo Trâ until Rima Foundation was informed about the case.
RFL provided financial support for the mother and baby to travel immediately to Saigon for treatment. Vietnam government provides free health cover to children under 6 -years of age, however, some special treatments and medications are not covered.
When we first visited the family, the baby was keeping her eyes closed entire day due to soreness. Our attempt to open her eyes made her cry.
We arranged for the mother and baby to travel immediately to Saigon. She was hospitalized upon arrival in Children’s Hospital in Saigon. During 1 week of hospitalization and undergoing laser surgeries and receiving medications, she gained 100% sight in one eye and 90% in the other.