Friends of Pa Eh Soe
Donation protected
Joe and Gail Stafford of West Hartford, along with Gail's sister Sharon Muscarella, have served as advocates for many refugees who have resettled in Hartford. They have been privileged to help many families from Burma (Myanmar) and have set up this GO Fund Me account to aid one wonderful girl they have worked with and known for 5 years. Her name is Pa Eh Soe.
On entering Pa Soe’s room in the Mt. Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital, she gives every visitor a thumb’s up and a broad grin. She is confined to a wheel chair and paralyzed from the waist down. A remarkable attitude given what she and her family have endured.
In 1996, her parents ran from their village in Myanmar (Burma) into the jungle to escape the invasion of Burmese soldiers who had looted and razed their village. Say Laida, Pa’s mother, witnessed soldiers systematically burning villages and murdering babies. She fled for her life and that of her two children after her husband was captured and arrested. For three month’s, Say Laida ran with an infant in her arms and 2 year old Pa Soe on her back. Hiding in the jungle with her two children, she eventually made her way to a refugee camp in Thailand, where she was reunited with her husband who had managed to escape from his captors.
After living in a one room hut for 14 years, the family got the call that they would change their lives. They would be resettled in Hartford, CT. Despite less than ideal conditions in a second floor, city walk up, and the formidable challenges of starting a life where you do not speak the language and the complexities of daily living are a mystery, Pa Soe and her family appreciated the basic amenities that seemed a miracle—running water, a bathroom, windows, and doors.
Pa Soe eagerly started her schooling at Hartford High, where she soaked up all her teachers offered. She advanced so quickly she was invited to join the honor society. But Pa Soe could not fulfill the community service hours necessary to join. She was too busy assisting her working parents and younger siblings at home. At age six months, her youngest brother Say Dah had been diagnosed with failure to thrive and Pa Soe was needed as both a caregiver and translator at his frequent medical appointments.
After graduation from high school, Pa Soe willingly chose to postpone further education and found a job. Her family needed the extra income. But she continued her transition to Americanization. On June 27, 2016, Paw excitedly went to the Hartford Courthouse to be sworn in as an American Citizen. She had continued her studies and her family watched proudly as she was sworn in, the first in the family to gain U.S. citizenship. What an honor!
The euphoria, however, was cruelly interrupted. Pa was a passenger in a car returning from her job at Norpaco in Middletown. A tire blew and the driver lost control, hit a concrete barrier, and was subsequently hit by an oncoming car. Paw was the most seriously injured with a broken neck, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. Paw is still in the rehabilitation clinic at the Mt. Sinai campus of St. Francis Hospital. She has been weaned from the ventilator to a tracheostomy and is sitting for most of the day. Her spirit is indomitable, but recovery will be long and arduous. The uncertainty of her future lies heavily on the minds of her parents; returning to a second floor walkup that in not accessible to the handicapped, medical bills not covered by insurance, and the quality of their daughter’s life going forward.
All monies donated will be given directly to Pa Soe and her family to pay for continuing therapy, specialized medical equipment, handicapped accessible housing, and medical bills not covered by insurance. Pa Soe and her family need to be soley focused on her recovery and the difficult adjustment to their "new reality", not on the financial implications asssociated with living with a spinal cord injury. Any amount you are able to give is deeply appreciated. We would also appreciate you spreading Pa's story with your friends and family.
And if you're thinking twice about whether this young woman would take anything for granted, know that when her family arrived in Hartford, the first thing they did was to obtain minimum wage jobs and pay off the $6,000 travel loan they had secured to make it to this place of promise and safety.
On entering Pa Soe’s room in the Mt. Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital, she gives every visitor a thumb’s up and a broad grin. She is confined to a wheel chair and paralyzed from the waist down. A remarkable attitude given what she and her family have endured.
In 1996, her parents ran from their village in Myanmar (Burma) into the jungle to escape the invasion of Burmese soldiers who had looted and razed their village. Say Laida, Pa’s mother, witnessed soldiers systematically burning villages and murdering babies. She fled for her life and that of her two children after her husband was captured and arrested. For three month’s, Say Laida ran with an infant in her arms and 2 year old Pa Soe on her back. Hiding in the jungle with her two children, she eventually made her way to a refugee camp in Thailand, where she was reunited with her husband who had managed to escape from his captors.
After living in a one room hut for 14 years, the family got the call that they would change their lives. They would be resettled in Hartford, CT. Despite less than ideal conditions in a second floor, city walk up, and the formidable challenges of starting a life where you do not speak the language and the complexities of daily living are a mystery, Pa Soe and her family appreciated the basic amenities that seemed a miracle—running water, a bathroom, windows, and doors.
Pa Soe eagerly started her schooling at Hartford High, where she soaked up all her teachers offered. She advanced so quickly she was invited to join the honor society. But Pa Soe could not fulfill the community service hours necessary to join. She was too busy assisting her working parents and younger siblings at home. At age six months, her youngest brother Say Dah had been diagnosed with failure to thrive and Pa Soe was needed as both a caregiver and translator at his frequent medical appointments.
After graduation from high school, Pa Soe willingly chose to postpone further education and found a job. Her family needed the extra income. But she continued her transition to Americanization. On June 27, 2016, Paw excitedly went to the Hartford Courthouse to be sworn in as an American Citizen. She had continued her studies and her family watched proudly as she was sworn in, the first in the family to gain U.S. citizenship. What an honor!
The euphoria, however, was cruelly interrupted. Pa was a passenger in a car returning from her job at Norpaco in Middletown. A tire blew and the driver lost control, hit a concrete barrier, and was subsequently hit by an oncoming car. Paw was the most seriously injured with a broken neck, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. Paw is still in the rehabilitation clinic at the Mt. Sinai campus of St. Francis Hospital. She has been weaned from the ventilator to a tracheostomy and is sitting for most of the day. Her spirit is indomitable, but recovery will be long and arduous. The uncertainty of her future lies heavily on the minds of her parents; returning to a second floor walkup that in not accessible to the handicapped, medical bills not covered by insurance, and the quality of their daughter’s life going forward.
All monies donated will be given directly to Pa Soe and her family to pay for continuing therapy, specialized medical equipment, handicapped accessible housing, and medical bills not covered by insurance. Pa Soe and her family need to be soley focused on her recovery and the difficult adjustment to their "new reality", not on the financial implications asssociated with living with a spinal cord injury. Any amount you are able to give is deeply appreciated. We would also appreciate you spreading Pa's story with your friends and family.
And if you're thinking twice about whether this young woman would take anything for granted, know that when her family arrived in Hartford, the first thing they did was to obtain minimum wage jobs and pay off the $6,000 travel loan they had secured to make it to this place of promise and safety.
Organizer and beneficiary
Sharon Muscarella
Organizer
Wethersfield, CT
Pa Soe
Beneficiary
