Dau Thi Huyen Tram - a great mother

(Baonghean.vn) - On August 31st, after more than two months of specialized treatment, baby Tran Gau - the son of Lieutenant Dau Thi Huyen Tram - was discharged from the hospital, bringing immense joy to his family.

Nghe An Newspaper would like to share the heartfelt thoughts of a reader expressing admiration for the woman's self-sacrifice.

Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien visits Dau Thi Huyen Tram. Photo: Internet

Indian mythology, from the land of Mahatma Gandhi, a figure greatly admired by President Ho Chi Minh, tells a story that: After several days and nights of raging storms, a mother bird, unable to fly out to find food for her young, vulnerable chicks, tore off her own flesh for them to eat...!

In Vietnam, not long ago—and this is certainly not a myth—a young, educated wife faced a heartbreaking situation: her husband, a PhD holder, was unexpectedly involved in a traffic accident while crossing the road. She immediately sought the help of a doctor she knew, who extracted her husband's sperm, preserved it in a cryopreservation device, and one day... she became pregnant!

Mythology, stripped of its illusory "shell," reveals the "core" of reality, projecting the dreams and aspirations of mortal man. The story above is a hymn to maternal love, an epic about the great sacrifice of a mother. And that young wife, whom I read about in the newspapers, overcame her profound grief, preserving the essence and image of her husband, whom she must have loved and cherished deeply.

The final days of the female lieutenant in her hospital bed. Photo: Internet

Lieutenant Dau Thi Huyen Tram, working in the Staff Department of the Ha Tinh Provincial Police, embodies those noble qualities in two aspects: as a mother and as a wife!

With a life formed within her at only 19 weeks, she was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. The young wife faced two choices: follow the doctor's advice and terminate the pregnancy to undergo chemotherapy and radiation therapy, hoping that even if she didn't recover, it would at least prolong her life, as she wished in her last letter, "Letter to my family and my man!": "If there were a miracle, give me another five years, or even one or two more years of good health, so I could prepare a few things for the people I love."

And she resolutely refused radiation and chemotherapy to preserve the life within her. Perhaps, those with conscience and understanding would share the same opinion: She put her child, even as it was forming day by day, above and beyond, forgetting her own life. Everyone's life is precious! Her actions – surely, for her, there was no struggle or choice – are the glorious pinnacle of motherly love!

Little Tran Gau - the son of the woman who bravely fought to cling to the life that his mother sacrificed to give him. Photo: Internet

Who can share her consciousness, especially her mindset, when she decided to protect the tiny life growing week by week within her, a fierce race between her own physical death and the life of her child? What is Baby Tran Gau – the name of the life she offered to the world – to Dau Thi Huyen Tram? It is her precious blood, her eternal identity that will forever guide her through life and humanity. And it is also the entrustment today and the eternal memory of "my man," as she called her husband in her last letter.

As I put pen to paper, my thoughts are completely set aside about mothers, women who have become morally corrupt, the depraved acts of childbirth, and the rampant moral decay that is so prevalent today. I am focused on the Light! Sister Dau Thi Huyen Tram… warms the heart, still believing in and loving this life. Her noble dignity, her simple self-sacrifice… still remains! Let each of us remind ourselves of this.

Three hundred delegations came to pay their respects and bid farewell to her. Her "husband" clasped her hands tightly, tears streaming down his face, and promised his wife's spirit: "...I will raise our children to be good people."

Ms. Dau Thi Huyen Tram lived by the philosophy she wrote in her letter: "Think about it, what matters is how long you live, what matters is how you live." Is it necessary to pray for the soul of Dau Thi Huyen Tram when her heart was already a Buddha-heart? Although she only lived for 25 years, she will live on, not only in the hearts of her dearest loved ones, in Tran Gau and for generations to come, but in the hearts of the people of Ha Tinh and Vietnam.

Distinguished Teacher Le Thai Phong