Bringing a Glimpse of Hope for Brittle Bone Disease Patients

Dr Michael To Kai-tsun, is a pediatric orthopedic surgeon specialized in osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). In 2012, The University of Hong Kong set up a new hospital in Shenzhen. Without any hesitation, Dr To volunteered to take on the challenge of developing the treatment of OI there. Since then, he travelled between Hong Kong and mainland China every week, bringing a glimpse of hope for numerous child patients in mainland China.

Osteogenesis Imperfecta, also known as “brittle bone” disease, is a rare congenital genetic disorder. The patients with bone fragility leading to repeated fractures and deformities. There are over 100,000 child patients in mainland China. Many patients and their family members travel from different provinces to The University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Hospital to seek medical treatment, in the hope of overturning their future. In order not to frustrate the hope and trust of these patients, Dr To devotes much of his time at the expense of his rest days and family traveling to different cities to offer free medical consultation and promote treatment for pediatric bone diseases, enkindling in the patients a feeling of being loved and cared on their road to recovery.

Assisting Patients’ Families to Resolve Their Living Issues

Dr To understands that many patients’ families came from rural and poor areas. Not only do they have to sell their belongings in order to pay for the costly journey and medical expenses, they would also have to worry about the cost of post-treatment rehabilitation. In order to assist them to resolve all these problems they had to face during the course of their treatment, Dr To works with many different local volunteer groups to raise funds for families with financial difficulties and assist them to look for affordable short-term accommodation, which would significantly reduce their expenses. Besides, Dr To established a chat group via mobile app to provide a platform for information sharing and mutual support for the patients and their families. He happily answers all kinds of questions related to the diseases or therapies for the patients after work, selflessly devoting efforts far beyond the scope required of a medical practitioner.

In Hong Kong, Dr To worked with The Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine of The University of Hong Kong and patients with rare bone diseases to establish a non-governmental organization, The Little People of Hong Kong in 2013, with a view to create greater awareness for pediatric patients suffering from rare bone disorders, especially the needs of children suffering dwarfism, so as to enable them to enjoy equal opportunities and quality of life as ordinary people and to live a meaningful and fulfilling life.

Check this link for the humanitarian work of Dr Michael To Kai-tsun.