The young lady left behind her silk and shoes to take care of her skinny baby girl.

Adopting a skinny 14-month-old baby girl weighing only 3.5 kg, Thanh Tam (Lao Cai) accepted to leave her rich life to take care of the baby herself.

At the end of June 2016, many internet users were heartbroken and shared a photo of a little girl with a gaunt face and a skinny body. The girl's name isYen Nhi was born in San Xa Ho commune, Sa Pa district, Lao Cai. When Nhi was 4 months old, her mother went missing while going to the market and everyone believed that she was tricked and sold across the border. Due to poverty and his wife's absence, Yen Nhi's father could only feed his daughter with rice water. As a result, the little girl became increasingly emaciated, weighing only 3.5 kg at 14 months old. She also suffered from cerebral palsy, was not aware of anything, and just lay there.

Image of baby Yen Nhi, skin and bones at 14 months old, weighing 3.5kg, and now - after 3 months of being cared for by mother Thanh Tam. Photo: NVCC.

As someone who often participates in volunteer activities, knowing the child's situation,The Lao Cai girl, born in 1992, Pham Thi Thanh Tam, went to Yen Nhi's house. Tam still remembers clearly the first time she met her: The baby was lying motionless, not showing any vitality, just skin and bones, pale as a leaf, many people were afraid to hold her. "A very strange feeling arose, both heartbreaking and loving, and I wanted to take care of the baby right away," Thanh Tam said.

She askedThe government protected her and Yen Nhi's father, taking her to the National Children's Hospital. There, she stayed by her side for 10 days and continued to take care of her when she was discharged.transferred to the Hospital in Lao Cai for further monitoring. After that, she performedprocedures to adopt baby Yen Nhi and take her home to care for.

Thanh Tam has been a vegetarian for 3 years and actively participates in charity activities because she believes in the law of cause and effect in Buddhism.Image:NVCC.

From here, the life of the young lady changed completely. While working as a manager for her family's chain of hotels and restaurants in Sa Pa, she put aside all her work to take care of her adopted daughter, despite opposition from her relatives. After bringing Nhi home, Tam did not receive any financial help from her family or anyone else in taking care of her child.

"Perhaps there is a special connection between me and my child. Before, I had met many children in difficult circumstances, looking very haggard, but I only tried to help them as much as possible, never thinking about adopting them. But with Nhi, it was completely different," Tam shared.

Not yet married, she started learning how to take care of her baby from the smallest things like changing diapers and making milk. The young mother was sometimes stressed when she had to stay up all night to hold and comfort her baby. "Even taking a bath had to be quick because she couldn't ask someone to look after the baby for long," she said.

Tam said that Yen Nhi is quite obedient and has a good appetite. Therefore, her body quickly recovered. After three months, she gained 5 kg and her skin is rosy.

"TEvery little change in my child makes me cry: the first time my child could move his arms and legs, the first time he could cry, the first time he could curl up...", she confided. Nhi also knows how to express her emotions, whenever she sees Tam's mother passing by, she cries and asks to be held.

Having never had to take care of a baby before, when adopting Yen Nhi, Thanh Tam said she did not feel too tired and did all the childcare as an instinct.Image:NVCC.

The thing that worries the young mother the most is how to help her child overcome the illness. She decided to take her child to Ha Nam, rent a house near a treatment facility and take her child to rehabilitation training twice a day. After only a month of training, Yen Nhi has not shown any progress. She is still not very aware, her movements are still weak, and she cannot sit up yet.

Wanting to ensure finances to take care of her child long-term, she decided to hire a maid to help take care of her child and start an online business. Tam said that she has always had a sense of independence since childhood. When she went to college far from home, she always got up early to go to the market to buy delicious and cheap food, and did not hesitate to sell on the sidewalk to earn money and gain experience."I'm not afraid of hardship and think that no matter what I'm thrown at, I can survive. I just think that if I accept to be a mother, I have to be able to raise my child. But if I just sit there holding my child all day, who will take care of my long-term life?" she said.

Tam shared that when she devoted herself to taking care of Yen Nhi, she made many loved ones sad. Her boyfriend broke up with her because he could not accept the lack of time and attention she gave him. Her parents were also upset because they always wanted their daughter to have a leisurely, happy life, not "suffering" like now. "My father wanted to help me financially many times, but I refused. Once I decided, I will take responsibility for my actions. I haven't thought much about the future, for now I just try to take care of my child to be healthy," the girl shared.

According to VNE