In a makeshift rented room in hamlet 2, Phu Vinh commune, Hue City, Ms. Huynh Thi Hung (born in 1992) struggled every day to raise her children.
To have money to cover the lives of the 4 mothers and children, every day Ms. Hung hugged her youngest son, Nguyen Van Luc Thinh (4 years old), and went everywhere selling goods on the streets.
Ms. Hung's two eldest daughters, Nguyen Thi Ky Duyen (6th grade) and Nguyen Thi Thanh Chuyen (4th grade), are both obedient, have been excellent students for many consecutive years and received scholarships at the school. However, that joy is not enough to cover the hard days when the youngest child is constantly sick.
Ms. Hung choked up and recounted that since birth, baby Luc Thinh has had to be treated at Hue Central Hospital. When he was just born, doctors discovered that he was infected with the fetal virus, congenital heart disease and severe pneumonia. Throughout the first months of life, he was almost closely attached to the hospital to monitor his heart and lungs.
By the age of 6 months, baby Luc Thinh had to undergo a dangerous heart surgery. But after surgery, the disease still did not let him go. He continued to suffer from asthma, epilepsy, difficulty eating due to abnormal nasopharynx and had to undergo surgery once more to be able to breastfeed. From a young age until now, he has only been able to drink specialized formula.
There are times when I see my child breathing tiredly, convulsing and then banging my head against the wall, I can only hug my child and cry. Many days when my child has epilepsy in the middle of the night, I panic and don't know who to cling to," Ms. Hung said sadly.
Not only suffering from heart and neurological diseases, baby Luc Thinh was also diagnosed with hyperactive autism and severe cerebral palsy. Currently, he cannot walk normally, all activities depend on his mother. Every time he has an agitation attack, he often hurts himself, causing Ms. Hung to always be by his side.
The life of Ms. Hung and her child became even more difficult when she could not send her child to work stably. Every day, she carried her child with her to sell goods on the street. On hot sunny or heavy rainy days, the baby would easily have a fever, shortness of breath and then be hospitalized.
The greater pain for Ms. Hung is that from the day her youngest child contracted a serious illness, her husband also quietly left, leaving Ms. Hung alone to shoulder the burden of raising three young children. With no support left, the single mother both carried her child to sell goods for a living and ran around for every penny of medicine and milk money for her child.
I don't dare to stop selling because if I take a day off, I don't have money to buy medicine and milk for my child that day," Ms. Hung choked up sharing.
Currently, each week, the cost of medicine for baby Thinh has cost nearly 500,000 VND. The cost of specialized milk that the baby can drink alone also costs about 2 million VND per month. Meanwhile, Ms. Hung's income from street vending is only about 150,000 VND/day, sometimes with customers, sometimes without.
Because she no longer has the ability to rent a room for a long time, Ms. Hung said that in the near future, she and her children will have to move to live in the house of an acquaintance who is working far away. Without a stable house, the illness lingers, causing the young mother to fall into despair many times.
I really want to take my child for more regular treatment, but I don't have money left. I just hope my child is less painful and less sick to live like normal children," Ms. Hung said.
Currently, baby Luc Thinh is still being monitored and treated at the Department of Autopsy Neuroscience and the Department of Cardiology - Hue Central Hospital. The road ahead for the two mothers and children is still extremely arduous when treatment costs are prolonged, while daily life is not yet adequate...
The circumstances of Ms. Huynh Thi Hung and her child really need sharing and help from philanthropists so that baby Nguyen Van Luc Thinh has more opportunities to continue treatment, overcome the painful days and have a truly meaningful childhood like other children.
All help for life situation LD26135, please send to Tam Long Vang Charity Social Fund - 51 Hang Bo, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi. Account number (STK) 113000000758 at Vietinbank Hoan Kiem Branch, Hanoi; Account number: 0021000303088 - at Vietcombank Hanoi Branch; Account number: 12410001122556 - at BIDV Hoan Kiem Branch.
