I was supposed to either die from execution, starvation, disease or overwork, like millions of other Cambodians during the Khmer Rouge era. I believed my life was spared for a specific reason—that I had a definite purpose to help others to succeed and save their lives. I have had faith and believe in this purpose for forty years, from the time I decided to escape the death rows of those failed leaders of the Khmer Rouge who were responsible for the murders of their own citizens. I survived the killing fields.
I escaped to Thailand where I met my wife Neang and immigrated to America where we formed a family and lived a successful American life.
Unfortunately, the universe has thrown me another curve. My surviving days in Cambodia and Thailand have paled in comparison to what I am going through in seeing my only son suffers day in and day out.
My wife Neang and I have three children: two older daughters and one youngest son. Our two daughters are happily married, have great jobs, and have beautiful families of their own. Devastatingly, our thirty-year-old son Anthony (Tony) cannot live a normal life like his sisters. He barely has enough strength to get up and get himself to do routine things.
Over five years ago, for unknown reasons, all of Anthony's kidneys failed. They were not healthy enough for his doctor to perform a biopsy and if they tried, his life would be in grave danger. The doctor told us he needed a kidney transplant. Right away, his sisters, his mother and I had our blood tested. No one else was a match, except for his mother. She has his blood type, O.
Due to our bond as parents—that we would sacrifice ourselves for our children—without a thought Neang gave our only son one of her kidneys. It saved Tony’s life in 2010, but the kidney lasted for only five years with much complications.
His body has been fighting and rejecting it. He lives with constant chronic and severe pains.
His body has been fighting and rejecting it. He lives with constant chronic and severe pains.
Now, he has been on dialysis three days a week, some eight hours each of those days. If he could not drive himself to the hospital or dialysis Center, his older sister or I would take him.
Tony’s condition is getting worse with each passing day. In April of 2016, his mother and I went to Cambodia in desperate hope we could reach out to our immediate families and relatives to help save our son’s life. Sadly, so far, nothing came of it. Meanwhile, Tony is still on a waiting list for a kidney donor here in New York. He’s getting weaker every day. The pain on his face and his struggle to move about stabbed every inch of my heart as well as Neang's. As parents, we want to protect all of our children from pain and suffering. In addition to praying every day, the only thing I could do now is desperately calling out and pleading friends, families, relatives, and strangers to please help save Anthony.
If you would like to help, whether by donating a kidney or providing financial assistance, please contact Mr. Timothy Chhim at 845-642-3232 or email him at TimothyChhim@aol.com.
Thank you! And God Bless You.
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