JUNE 12 UPDATE FROM DR MITCH
Keep praying for Naw Gay, who suffered severe burns to her face, head, arms, and legs in a firebomb airstrike. Her care requires advanced reconstructive surgery and long-term rehabilitation.
We asked people to step into Naw Gay’s story with us. Within just 2 days, the estimated initial treatment costs of $50,000 were raised. In late June, she will be admitted to the top teaching hospital in Chiang Mai. They estimate that she will need multiple surgeries and extensive rehab over the course of a year. Their top priority will be on repairing her eyelids in order to preserve her vision. This will be followed by work on her mouth so she can begin eating again. After that, they’ll shift toward appearance and rehabilitation. Further funding for Naw Gay will go directly toward her long-term rehabilitation and ongoing care—often the hardest part to fund - we estimate an additional $50,000 will be needed. So, we invite you to continue giving to help us reach our final goal of $100,000 to cover Naw Gay's entire care. This next stage is just as vital.
Any funds received in excess of Naw Gay's short-term and long-term needs will be designated for other front line patient care.
You can follow Naw Gay's story here:
https://www.earth-mission.org/stories/en4g5wubfvvlzv418io1drajlzizk0
JUNE 8 UPDATE FROM DR MITCH: With deepest gratitude to all those who stepped into Naw Gay’s story with us and gave so generously. We have met the estimated cost ($50,000USD) of her initial treatment. Any funds beyond this will go directly toward her long term rehabilitation and ongoing care - often the hardest part to find.
So we invite you to continue giving. This next stage is just as vital.
JUNE 5 Here is Naw Gay’s story told by Dr Mitch Ryan from Earth Mission
Naw Gay is a 26-year-old community healthcare worker who served in the conflict zones of Burma. On March 8, she was hiding in a trench with two friends during an airstrike near active fighting in Northern Karen State. A firebomb struck their position. Her two friends were killed. Naw Gay survived—but with devastating injuries.
She suffered severe burns to her face, head, arms, and legs. It took five days—and the coordination of several organizations—to get her from the jungle to a hospital in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Over the next ten weeks, she underwent multiple surgeries and skin grafts. Some of those grafts failed. She still cannot close her eyelids or her mouth which will have serious implications until addressed.. She still cannot eat on her own. The hospital in Chiang Mai has done all it can. Her care now requires advanced reconstructive surgery and long-term rehabilitation.
Recently, a team of plastic surgeons in Singapore reviewed her case. They are willing to take her on, and are working to minimize their own fees as much as possible. One of the doctors believes they can help her get clearance to enter Singapore on humanitarian grounds. But getting her there—and covering even the reduced costs—is still a significant challenge. The estimated cost is $50,000 USD. We are also pursuing secondary options here in Thailand, in case we’re unable to get her to Singapore.
Naw Gay is one of us—a healthcare worker injured while serving others in Burma. If someone asked me, “Who is your neighbor—the one you’re called to love as yourself?” I would have to include Naw Gay. She has walked our same path. Her need is undeniable. In seconds, her life was shattered by fire. Though she cannot speak because of the tracheostomy, her clear, quiet eyes—peering out from behind a thick mask of bandages—communicate well enough: “Help me live.” With a gentle nod, she agreed to let us share her story and the photos that accompany it.
We’ll be reaching out to everyone we can—friends, organizations, anyone who might help us stand with her in this struggle. How do you define a neighbor? If I’ve read Jesus right… when love demands a response—that’s when a true neighbor is born.
Luke 10:25-37 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live. ….
A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers…”
