13 years of fighting with a serious illness

(Baonghean) - More than 13 years have passed, Thuy's small body weighing less than 40 kg is still fighting strongly against all kinds of diseases, the most frightening of which is stage 4 kidney failure. Many times Thuy was fragile between life and death. But life is still "holding" Thuy back, perhaps because Thuy's desire to live is so great, the love of her relatives has helped Thuy to be optimistic, living every meaningful moment.

The 29-year-old girl's favorite job is cooking delicious meals for her family.

Nguyen Thu Thuy was born and raised in a farming family in Xuan Dong hamlet, Nghi Duc commune (Vinh city). Thuy is gentle and hard-working. Her father is a retired commune official; Thuy's mother is a hard-working woman, working hard all year round for her family. Thuy's life would have gone on like many others until terrible diseases took hold of her.

Those were the days when Thuy was in 10th grade, her body suddenly fell into a state of fatigue and constant illness. Thuy's father took her to the hospital and was diagnosed with severe anemia. Thuy's family's search for a blood donor was more urgent than ever. Her father and brother were the first to enter that "battle". The villagers felt sorry for each other and went to test and donate blood for Thuy. Strangely, the amount of blood transfused into Thuy's body was like a drop in the ocean.

The family decided to take Thuy to Hanoi for examination. At Military Hospital 103, despite doing all the tests, the doctors still could not diagnose Thuy's illness. She lay in the hospital waiting, witnessing her father's grief over her, her heart ached. At that time, Thuy did not have a health insurance card, and the cost of medicine and living expenses was more than 2 million VND per day. Thuy's family sold all their belongings and ran around to borrow money to treat their daughter.

It was painful when Thuy was sent back to the hospital. Everyone hid it from Thuy, so she did not know that she was... about to die. But a miracle happened, Thuy narrowly escaped death. Thuy's uncle was a doctor, relying on his ability and the doctors to diagnose her one last time. Luckily, luck smiled on her, the results showed that Thuy had hemolytic anemia and lupus erythematosus. She was treated for a long time at the hospital and when her illness somewhat improved, she was allowed to go home for outpatient treatment. Every month, Thuy regularly followed her father or brother to Hanoi for regular check-ups and to get medicine.

Everyone thought that Thuy had escaped death. In fact, in the following days, she was still tormented by pain. When she went for a check-up, the doctor told her that she needed to have her spleen removed to end her hemolytic anemia and lupus. Thuy had surgery to remove her spleen. After the surgery, she got an infection that led to an abscess, and Thuy's emaciated body once again had to "rely" on surgery. After many days of intensive treatment, Thuy recovered. Receiving the negative test results in her hands, Thuy and her father hugged and cried. However, only a short time later, her family was heartbroken when they received the news that their daughter had kidney complications from lupus.

“I suffered from kidney failure when I turned 25, and from then on I had to spend more time in the hospital than at home, because my kidney failure was at stage 4, and I could no longer function normally. Since then, my life has been tied to the dialysis machine,” Thuy confided. For Thuy, the hand surgeries for dialysis caused her extreme pain. After 4 years, Thuy’s hands were covered with kidney glomeruli the size of chicken eggs. The constant illness caused the girl who weighed over 40kg to only weigh 36kg, her already small body became even more emaciated, and her eyes bulged.

Every morning when she wakes up, she has to take countless medications. Her blood pressure keeps rising rapidly, her health gets weaker and weaker, and her anemia is severe. Four times a week, Thuy goes to the Provincial General Hospital for dialysis. In the early days, Thuy was depressed and gave up everything because she knew she would not be able to live, and that living would only be a burden to everyone. But after 2 years, thanks to regular dialysis, good care from her family, a strict diet, and comfort from many friends, Thuy's spirit has become more stable. Thuy still has the shoulders of her loved ones to lean on. That strength has given Thuy more motivation to live optimistically, cherishing every minute and every second.

The 29-year-old girl's favorite job is cooking delicious meals for her family.

Now, Thuy is a 29-year-old girl, entering her 4th year of "living with" a dialysis machine, exactly 13 years since she died and came back to life with many serious illnesses. Every week, Thuy is only "connected" to the dialysis machine 3 times. Normally, Thuy goes to the hospital alone. When the weather changes, Thuy asks a relative to take her there. After more than 4 hours of dialysis, Thuy returns to her family. "In my heart, I always tell myself that my family has sacrificed so much for me, so I have to live a meaningful life, bringing joy to everyone" - Thuy shared.

Thuy's long-time dream was to become a nurse. But her health did not allow her to do that. However, Thuy was determined, taking advantage of her health to devote all her efforts to completing her primary medical degree. Thuy diligently did small tasks for her uncle's clinic such as typing, recording medical records for patients... Although it was not a big job, that small job was a great joy for Thuy, a lever that helped Thuy live stronger in the face of the hardships in life that Thuy had to face.

Now, in her spare time, Thuy sells products online. Thuy makes cakes, green tea powder, turmeric essence... by hand to serve people's needs. On days when she doesn't have to do dialysis or work at the clinic, if her health is stable, Thuy still delivers goods to customers. Although everyone in the family just wants their daughter to rest, Thuy is determined to do what she can. Thuy wants to earn a little income so that life is not meaningless. She also hopes that every day she lives will be happy and good. That is also her way of thanking life and her loved ones.

Thien Thien