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Japs is a 58 year old seaweed farmer living in Placencia, Belize. For 15 years, he was unable to see, because as a seaweed farmer, he was constantly exposed to the sun glaring off of the waves. Without the knowledge that this exposure was harmful, and without sunglasses, Japs developed cataracts in his eyes.
ABC was able to help Japs see by sending him to Belize city, where two eye doctors were able to successfully operate on his eyes and take care of the cataracts. 
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Dungo is a 61 year old patient who experienced chest pains when working on his farm. The pain only went away when he rested, but there were a few times when his heart hurt for a long period of time. These experiences indicated that Dungo had either a stable angina (where the heart only hurts when exerted because the arteries are clogged and the heart is not getting enough oxygen), or an unstable angina (where the heart hurts all the time because it is being suffocated).
After going to a local Belizean doctor nearly two years ago, the doctor injected a squid dye into his radial artery and told him that he needed open heart surgery. Because Dungo didn't have enough money, he couldn't get the surgery done. ABC communicated with the Taiwan-Belize embassy and with Taiwan hospitals who were willing to see him, confirm the diagnosis, and treat him with an angioplasty (which cleans out the clog) and a stent (a straw that keeps the arteries open). However, he ultimately had to receive a triple bypass surgery due to the severity of his case. Thankfully, the surgery was successful and Dungo is now eating healthy and planting a vegetable garden back at home in Belize! |
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