More than 3 years since her daughter was born with congenital heart disease and many complications, Ms. Phan Thi Phuong (born in 1993) has almost devoted all her time to taking care of her baby. The previous job as an electronics worker with an income of about 4 million VND/month had to be put aside.
Ms. Phuong's husband - Mr. Le Phuoc Thang (born in 1988), works as a construction worker, which is the main source of income for the family. However, in July 2025, he unfortunately had a work accident, broke his left leg and had to be hospitalized at Hue Central Hospital for surgery. After the accident, Mr. Thang's walking was still difficult, his left leg often ached. The construction work was already precarious, now it is even more difficult when his health is no longer as before.
Ms. Phuong and her husband have 3 children. The two older children, Le Phan Tuan Anh (born in 2016) and Le Phan Nhu Y (born in 2020), are both healthy and obedient, often helping their parents with small housework. The youngest child, Le Phan Tam An (born in 2023), suffers from severe congenital heart disease.
According to Ms. Phuong, at the beginning of March 2023, she gave birth to Tam An at Hue Central Hospital. Immediately after birth, the baby had to be resuscitated at the Intensive Care Unit. About 10 days later, the baby was taken home but soon had to return to the hospital.
Tam An often breathes quickly, has difficulty breathing, coughs a lot, is tired and fussy, especially at night. There were times when the baby had a fever of up to 40 degrees Celsius. Every time she noticed her child showing abnormal signs, Ms. Phuong hurriedly took her child to the hospital.
Not only suffering from congenital heart disease, Tam An was later diagnosed with heart failure, asthma, pneumonia and malnutrition. The baby developed slowly, ate poorly. Ms. Phuong recounted that at one point her child only weighed about 5kg, while children of the same age had developed much more. Up to now, the baby is only about 9kg.
Every time the condition worsens, Tam An has to breathe oxygen, have intravenous fluids and medication. Doctors determined that the baby also has severe pneumonia. There were times when Tam An had to be hospitalized continuously for about 3 months," Ms. Phuong said sadly.
During that time, Ms. Phuong and her husband took turns being on duty by their child's side. Some people at the hospital took care of their child, others took advantage of going to work to earn money to cover expenses. The cost of medicine, accommodation, travel and treatment during the child's serious illness amounted to 60 million VND.
Seeing my child lying there, tiny but suffering from many diseases, I feel so sorry for my child. Seeing other children of the same age running and playing, I just hope my child will also have a day like this," Ms. Phuong choked up.
According to Ms. Phuong, the doctor instructed Tam An to maintain long-term treatment drugs. Currently, the family spends about 3 million VND per month on medicine, including cardiovascular medicine, lung medicine, asthma medicine and tonics. For asthma spray alone, the baby uses about 2 bottles per month.
For more than 3 years of Tam An's treatment, the family has spent about 150 million VND. This amount of money is mostly borrowed from relatives, family and banks. Each time the child is hospitalized, if the illness is mild, the family also has to prepare about 10 million VND; for long treatment courses, the cost can be up to tens of millions of VND... The burden makes the poor family increasingly difficult and exhausted...
I just hope to have more funds to take my child to Hanoi for examination and find a better treatment. My husband and I have tried our best, but the longer the treatment, the more difficult it becomes. I hope philanthropists and benefactors will be kind and help so that my child has more opportunities," Ms. Phuong shared.
Meanwhile, Ms. Phuong's family is still living with her elderly parents-in-law, who suffered a stroke and are in poor health. The family burden is therefore even heavier...
Talking to a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Ho Ngoc Trung, Head of Huong Binh village, Binh Dien commune (Hue city) said that Ms. Phuong's family is in difficult circumstances, and for many years they have had to spend most of their time and income to treat Tam An.
She is still young but suffers from many diseases, often has to go to the hospital, while the family's circumstances are very difficult. Ms. Phuong's husband had a work accident, and his health and work were affected. The locality really hopes that philanthropists will care and support so that the family has more conditions to treat her, helping her have the opportunity to be healthier," Mr. Trung shared.
All help for life situation LD26194 please send to Tam Long Vang Charity Social Fund - 51 Hang Bo, Hoan Kiem Ward, 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.
