The boy has been battling hemolytic anemia for over 12 years.

(Baonghean.vn) - Luong Huu Quyet (born in 2000), a Thai ethnic minority from Chau Hanh commune (Quy Chau district), was diagnosed with hemolytic anemia at the age of 4. While his mother was still reeling from the shock and grief, his father betrayed her and abandoned them. Misfortune piled upon the shoulders of the mother and son because Quyet's illness meant he would have to rely on the blood bank at the hospital for the rest of his life.

For over 10 years, the mother and son have traveled back and forth countless times from the Provincial Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital to the National Children's Hospital to keep Quyết alive. The hospital's treatment protocol involves blood transfusions and iron chelation therapy, on average once a month, each time lasting at least a week and sometimes up to 10 days, during which time the mother and son have to support each other as they go to the hospital.

Because they had to go to the hospital frequently, the mother and daughter mainly ate instant noodles. Each day they only bought one meal costing 20,000 VND to share...

Having just started kindergarten, Luong Huu Quyet had to go to the hospital frequently for treatment. Now a 12th-grade student, his condition has not improved and is at risk of worsening. The burden of worry has become even heavier on his mother's shoulders. Quyet's spleen is larger than normal, so the doctor recommended surgery, but after repeatedly inquiring about the cost of the operation, both mother and son had to swallow their tears and pack their bags to go home.

Every time she took her child to the hospital, Quyết's mother had to save money on transportation by taking her child nearly 200 km on her old motorbike. When the child was sick and tired, they would rest along the way, because the round-trip transportation for both of them cost over 500,000 dong. Once at the hospital, with limited funds, Quyết and her child often had to eat instant noodles, and each day they could only afford to buy and share one 20,000 dong meal.

Recalling the days she and her son battled illness, Ms. Luong Thi Tam – Quyet's mother – shared: Growing up, she met and fell in love with a man from Nghi Kieu (Nghi Loc), thinking life would be happy and peaceful when her son was born. But when she discovered her son had a serious illness, the heartless man abandoned her, leaving behind the pain of illness and the burden of life for her and her son.

Each time Quyết is hospitalized, he needs at least 3 bags of blood transfusions.

The small house in Ta Lanh village, Chau Hanh commune, Quy Chau district, is now occupied only by a mother, her child, and the 90-year-old grandmother, a scene of profound sadness due to the absence of the family's breadwinner. Quyet's mother, only a little over 40, no longer dares to think about her own happiness, spending her days selling goods to earn money to take her child to the hospital. The villagers have offered some support to help her have time to take her child to school and to buy food, but for the people of Chau Hanh mountainous commune, where over 60% of households are still living in poverty, the support is limited.

Despite his chronic illness, Quyết was very studious. From elementary school to high school, he was a "special" student, known and cared for by his teachers and the school administration. In some years, he missed too much school for medical treatment, but the school still made exceptions, allowing him to catch up on missed classes. Thanks to his efforts, Quyết achieved excellent and outstanding academic results for many years. The bicycle given to underprivileged students at Châu Hạnh Secondary School encouraged Quyết to work even harder in his studies. Knowing his family's difficult circumstances, whenever he wasn't sick, Quyết helped his grandmother tend to the pigs and chickens, and gather food to save for when he and his mother went to the hospital.

Quyết's singing voice left a lasting impression at the charity concert at the Nghe An Cancer Hospital in March 2016.

Quyết is also a talented performer at his school, known for his warm singing voice, especially in songs about mothers. In early March, at a charity concert organized by Hoa Sen Security Group at the Nghe An Oncology Hospital, Quyết's voice left a lasting impression, moving many artists and patients to tears. Mr. Tran Quang Trung, Director of the Oncology Hospital, promised to sponsor Quyết's spleen surgery.

Although the surgery has been funded, Quyết's health is currently unstable, so it cannot be performed yet. At the Hematology and Blood Diseases Department of the Provincial Hematology Center, Quyết still has to travel from home to the hospital regularly, and upon returning home, he relies on his mother to drive him to school to continue his studies.

Previously, Quyết and his mother received a subsidy for single mothers raising disabled children, but it was cut off after only a few years. Currently, Ms. Lương Thị Tâm has submitted her application to the commune and hopes that the higher authorities will approve the subsidy for single mothers raising disabled children so that she can have more funds to treat her child's illness.

Quyết's situation urgently requires the help and support of the community and philanthropists to help him overcome his illness.

Ha Linh