Mrs Bich has known about her diabetes for 3 years. When she was first treated, she was started on insulin shots because her blood sugar was so high. As insulin is hard to find and expensive, she had to stop treatment shortly after starting. She was able to intermittently buy some pills for diabetes but they were largely ineffective and she couldn’t stay on them for long. When we first met her, she had lost 12 kg from her diabetes and was wasting away. We quickly started her on insulin and gave her a home monitor to check her sugars. She started gaining weight and feeling well. We are now working to train her for a job in Hoi An so she can be independent and participate in the management of her illness.

Mr K is a 12 year old boy with HIV. He has been having a lot of problems with low blood counts and recurrent infections. Due to the stigma of the disease and poor care in the countryside, he has received intermittent and ineffective treatment. He was spending most of his time sleeping at home because his illness drained him of any energy. We met him and his father and sent them to Sai Gon. There we arranged a visit with HIV specialists from Viet Nam and abroad. They admitted him to the hospital and now have his problems under control. We continue to manage him together with the physicians in Sai Gon. He is feeling much better and is able to return to school and play with other kids.

Mr Quang is 21 years old and has been suffering from severe Rheumatoid Arthritis. The only medication available in the area is prednisone. Because of the severity of the disease, he has had to take very high doses for relief and suffered many side effects. He eventually stopped all medicines because he felt the side effects were worse than the disease. Since that time he has been immobile and had to leave university. Working with pharmacies in the big city as well as liaising with a rheumatologist in America we have found better medicine for his disease with fewer side effects. He is currently pain free, walking and back in school.

Mr Bi is a 32 year old man with a history of rheumatic fever as a child. This infection damaged one of his heart valves without him knowing. He is a fisherman and started having difficulty working about 4 years ago. After a year of seeing doctors he was finally diagnosed with a damaged heart valve and told he needed surgery. The cost of the surgery was well out of his means at the time. He saved money for a few years to cover the cost but this was set back when his brother died in the floods last year and Bi had to care for his wife and kids. When we finally met him he was having difficulty doing any work due to chest pains and having trouble supporting the two families. We raised the money and had surgery performed in the nearby city of Da Nang.

Ms Dieu is a 13 year old lady who was born with a small hole between two chambers of her heart. She learned of this a year before we met her. The doctors told her it was too late for surgery due to very high pressures in the blood vessels feeding her lungs. When we met her we found out that the doctors we work with in Da Nang were able to find some pills that can lower this blood pressure and make surgery possible. Though it was a long shot, we sent Dieu to Da Nang for 3 months to have a trial of the medicine. We were all relieved at the end of her stay to find out that she responded quite well to the medicine. The doctors decided to proceed with the surgery. Dieu is now feeling normal and healthy and has returned to school. She proudly shows her scar to anyone who asks!