At the beginning of the program, MC Ngoc Lan took out a photo from the memory box. The photo, more than 20 years old, shows a bowl of vegetarian noodles that Ms. Le Thi Be, then about 50 years old, sold and gave to charity in a poor neighborhood in Ho Chi Minh City.
At that time, Ms. Le Thi Be's husband suffered from pancreatitis and hepatitis. He had to stay in the hospital for nearly two months for treatment. The couple has eight young children.
At that time, the family's economy completely depended on Mrs. Le Thi Be. Every day she sells noodles to make a living while taking care of her husband and children. When she couldn't hold on anymore, she was forced to sell the house she was living in and rent a house to have money for her husband's medical treatment.
The second item that MC Ngoc Lan took out from the memory box was a "mask". After being treated for pancreatitis and hepatitis, Ms. Le Thi Be's husband continued to suffer from laryngeal cancer and had to have urgent surgery for a malignant tumor.
This "mask" accompanied him during those times to cover the wound after surgery. He stayed at the Oncology Hospital for a year for radiation treatment. To communicate with people, he must have a device that supports sound production from the larynx. Before there was a computer, he had to write things down on paper. Sometimes when he gets frustrated, he gets angry and smashes things and says: "Let me die now, I can't talk after surgery." At that time, she cried a lot, she was afraid he would die. It didn't stop there. Every year, the disease metastasized and he had to go to the hospital for surgery. He has had to have surgery 8 times since 2003.
The illness did not let him go. In 2005, he broke one leg at the knee, and in 2006, he broke another leg. When entering the hospital, the doctor asked Mrs. Le Thi Be what diseases he had had, and she answered all the diseases he had experienced.
Suddenly, the doctor asked her: "How many houses have you sold?". At that time, she could only smile wryly and say: "If you know that, doctor, don't ask anymore, it sounds very painful."
After looking at the records, the doctor said his leg could not be operated on and he had to go home and use a wheelchair for the rest of his life. There were many disasters, but she was still resilient and optimistic. She thought: "Is it possible that so many diseases can be overcome, but now they can't?". Back home, she actively treated him with traditional medicine. About a month later, he was completely relieved. He used a cane to go to the temple and do charity work everywhere.
To have enough money to take care of her family, Mrs. Le Thi Be is attached to her noodle cart. “I have no intention of quitting selling noodles, because this is the dish I like to cook the most. I'm not depressed, I always tell myself to try hard because everything in the family has to be tried, if I quit, no one will worry. The children are still young, so we must take care of them fully."
MC Ngoc Lan continued to take out the last item in the memory box. It's an old shirt. The shirt is associated with memories of charity work of Mrs. Le Thi Be and her husband. She said: "Since my grandfather and I went to the pagoda and charity work in Pleiku, Dak Lak, I saw many people without anything to wear when it was cold, so I told him to go home and buy old clothes to give to them." .
Despite difficult circumstances and poor health, Ms. Le Thi Be and her husband are still determined to do charity work. “As long as I have the strength to keep going, I'm determined not to give up until my last breath. When I started doing charity work, I was very passionate about it. One time he won a jackpot of 1.8 billion VND, he gave it all away, not leaving any money. My husband and I go to remote areas, and when we see someone suffering, we give it to them. If you have money, you want to go to charity, you don't want to stay at home," Ms. Le Thi Be shared.
