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| Soth Rey Photo: Supplied |
Cambodian necrosis patient Soth Rey dies
Sydney Morning Herald | 28 March 2017
Bangkok: An 18-year-old woman whose case focussed
attention on the poor state of medical care in Cambodia has died after
contracting necrosis, a rare form of cell degeneration.
Soth Rey
was working in a massage parlour to support her three younger siblings
and parents in the north-west Cambodian town of Siem Reap when she fell
ill with a sinus infection in December.
A doctor diagnosed her
with the flu and sent her home. Weeks later she developed ulcers in her
nose and a doctor decided to pull out some of her teeth.
When that didn't solve the problem, she went to a traditional Khmer healer who spat and blew on the ulcers for a month.
Then Soth Rey's face began to disintegrate.
With her face
disfigured by a wide hole, her nose and cheek eaten away, her family
took her to Phnom Penh where a group of expatriates, hearing of her
plight, raised money for her to be treated at the city's Sen Sok
Hospital. She was described as a "young, vibrant woman" who showed
incredible bravery as doctors tried to save her life.
Ivan Matela, one of the doctors, confirmed she died from septicaemia and pneumonia on March 25.
"She
died with no pain, no suffering, surrounded by the love and care of her
sister and medical staff at the hospital who all came to love her,"
Yulia Khouri, a Canadian living in Phnom Penh posted on Facebook.
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