A family in need of help
(Baonghean.vn) - Her 6-year-old daughter just had heart surgery and had an appointment for a follow-up check-up, but she had no money to take her child. Her young son was severely malnourished, while her husband had terminal cancer. The woman could only cry in despair.
We visited Tran Dinh Thuong (born in 1981) and Ha Thi Minh (born in 1976) in hamlet 26/3, Thanh Duc commune (Thanh Chuong) at noon, the winter sunlight did not ease the cold. The small, rickety house, the wind howling from the front door to the back door, the stove placed right next to the bed, Ha Thi Minh explained, was both to provide heat to help Thuong feel less cold because the blanket was too thin, and to make it convenient for her to boil medicine, cook and take care of her husband.
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| The small house of Mr. Thuong and Ms. Minh. Photo: Dam Phuong |
In the yard was a half-built brick house, which had been pooled together by the paternal and maternal relatives with the intention of building a small house for them to live in. The temporary hut was too old and dilapidated to withstand the summer heat and the winter wind, but the unfinished construction had to stop.
Mr. Thuong was not as quick and intelligent as others, Ms. Minh was clever but also old, they came together to rely on each other. When they got married, the couple did not have even an inch of land to settle down, Mr. Thuong's older brother built a temporary hut on his land, they lived a simple but happy life when they welcomed their two children. However, the joy was short-lived when Tran Thi Phuong Thao (born in 2011) was born with a congenital heart disease, her younger brother Tran Dinh Hanh (born in 2015) was malnourished. The family's only source of income was the 5 sao of tea that the older brother had transferred. |
| Mr. Thuong has a terminal illness but has no money for treatment. Photo: Dam Phuong |
There was no money in the house, no assets to mortgage for loans, the parents were old and weak, the siblings were also poor, so after many trips, Ms. Minh was able to get a free heart surgery schedule for her daughter. But before Phuong Thao could get to the operating table, Mr. Thuong fell ill, the doctor informed him that he had rectal cancer, which had metastasized, and needed urgent surgery. From May to November 2017, Mr. Thuong had to undergo 3 surgeries. During the recent re-examination, the doctors advised him to go home because he had terminal cancer.
Already poor and struggling, now both father and son have serious illnesses. To treat her husband and son, Ms. Minh had to borrow money from relatives. Up to now, the amount of money Ms. Minh has borrowed is nearly 100 million VND.The Party Secretary of Hamlet 26/3, Thanh Duc Commune shared: Recently, hamlet organizations and unions launched two donation campaigns, but the people here are still poor, so the amount received is also small. The other day, Mr. Thuong went to the hospital, Ms. Minh took care of the two children, the hamlet also mobilized households to harvest tea for the family. If you can't help financially, then contribute labor, but hiring people to harvest 5 sao of tea would cost 4-5 million VND, which is not a small amount."
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| Phuong Thao has a congenital heart disease and her younger brother Dinh Hanh is malnourished. Photo: Dam Phuong |
The last few days have been very cold, very cold. The house is empty, the front and back are exposed to the wind, so even if the stove is burning all day, it still cannot dispel the cold. Ms. Minh sent her two children to sleep with their grandparents, and the couple hugged each other to cope with the harshness of the weather and the cruelty of fate.
Mr. Nguyen Huu Vinh - Chairman of Thanh Duc Commune People's Committee said: Mr. Thuong and Ms. Minh's family is the poorest and most difficult household in the commune. Both the husband and child have serious illnesses, so their situation is even more difficult. Organizations and villages have mobilized donations, but it is like wind blowing into an empty house. I just hope that more readers near and far will know about their situation and join hands to help them so that they can have the conditions to treat their daughter and raise their son.Please send any help to Ms. Ha Thi Minh, Hamlet 26/3, Thanh Duc Commune, Thanh Chuong District, phone number: 01636.982.808.
Or Distribution - Social Activities Department, Nghe An Newspaper No. 3, Le Nin Avenue - Hung Phuc Ward - Vinh City - Nghe An.
