The pitiful situation of a 7th grade boy orphaned by his father and mother with cancer

We were at the house of Nguyen Thi Hoa (33 years old) in Dong Tam hamlet, Boi Son commune when she was preparing her belongings to go to Vinh hospital on June 1. In the yard, on a small plot of land, Duc - her son was busy digging a hole to fence the garden, to grow vegetables.

Sitting next to her husband’s altar, Ms. Hoa sadly recounted her family story. In 2006, she married Mr. Phan Huy Tam, a mechanic in Ngoc Son commune. Two months after giving birth to their first child, Mr. Tam developed a mental illness and had to be taken to the hospital. Despite treatment, he did not survive due to the severity of his illness.

The "house of love" of Duc and his mother at the foot of the hill. Photo: Huy Thu

Living in poverty, Ms. Hoa had to take her child back to her maternal grandparents' house. Her parents and siblings built a small house in the backyard. Ms. Hoa had sent her child to the district's Social Protection Center, but later took her back to raise her. Pitying the mother and child living in a dilapidated house, the local government and charities built a two-room tiled house for her and her child.

With a tight economy, there were times when Ms. Hoa wanted to send her children to her siblings to work far away, but Duc told his mother, "Wherever you go, I will go" so she had to stay home with her children, accepting the situation of doing whatever job anyone hired her to do. Her family is a long-term poor household in the commune. The mother and child work 1 sao of rice field and raise 1 cow given by a humanitarian program.

Phan Nguyen Huy Duc and his mother. Photo: Huy Thu

I thought my life of poverty would pass by like that, but unexpectedly she fell ill. “In 2017, I was seriously ill, fainted, went to the doctor and found out that I had a grade 3 heart valve defect and a goiter. In early 2020, after a period of dull abdominal pain, I went to the hospital and the doctor concluded that I had colon cancer,” said Ms. Hoa.

After she was transferred to the oncology hospital for treatment, due to her family's poverty and poor health, both times she was about to undergo surgery, she had to postpone it: once due to lack of funds, and once due to severe anemia. Since early January, she has been hospitalized four times and received chemotherapy and radiation therapy twice.

“I am the youngest in a family of five siblings, one of whom lives in the South and is also undergoing treatment for colon cancer. Each of us has our own situation, so we can’t help each other much,” Hoa sadly shared.

Duc is digging a hole to plant garden fence posts to grow vegetables. Photo: Huy Thu

During her treatment at the hospital, knowing her poor circumstances, some kind-hearted people stood up to help her with hospital fees, medicine... Serious illness, no money, many times she wanted to give up "live or die", but still had to try for her child.

At home, all the farm work and gardening work is done by his brothers and son. Duc is currently studying in class 7C, Bach Ngoc Secondary School. Every day, in the morning he goes to school, in the afternoon he goes to herd cows, pulls grass, does housework, and takes care of his mother... Orphaned from a young age, and now his mother is sick, ill... Duc's childhood was not as warm and complete as other children, and at only 13 years old he had to take on the family's work.

Ms. Hoa's appointment paper at the Oncology Hospital. Photo: Huy Thu

Ms. Hoa said with tears in her eyes: “He studies normally, but he works hard. At home, his mother can help him with anything he needs. After finishing 7th grade, I wonder if Duc will be able to continue his studies? If I don’t make it, I just hope that the community and kind-hearted people will take care of him and help him become a good person.”

Sharing about Duc's situation, teacher Cao Thi Vuong Ngoc - homeroom teacher of class 7C, Bach Ngoc Secondary School said: "Duc's family has the most special situation in the class and in the school. Recently, the Youth Union, the school's Teachers' Council, and the class's parents' association have launched a fundraising campaign to help him. With Duc's situation, we hope to receive help from philanthropists and the community.

Please send any help to: Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa, Dong Tam hamlet, Boi Son commune, Do Luong district, Nghe An province.

Phone: 0965 952660

Account number: 1048 7122 6970. Vietinbank, Vinh branch.

Or Department of Social Affairs of Nghe An Newspaper, No. 3 - Lenin - Vinh City