The pitiful plight of a widow with a brain tumor

According to Ms. Thao, 3 years ago, headaches of unknown cause began to torment her. Due to difficult family circumstances, she did not go to the doctor but just bought medicine to take.

Entering 2023, the headaches appeared frequently and became more and more severe, causing her to faint many times in the middle of the field.

5 months ago, she had a severe headache. During a hospital visit, she was shocked when the doctor informed her that she had a large tumor in her brain and needed surgery, otherwise it would affect her life.

Seven years ago, her husband was diagnosed with cancer. After a period of treatment, he passed away, leaving her with two young children. She overcame adversity and became both a mother and a father. In addition to farming, raising cows, pigs, and chickens, she also worked as acacia tree cutter, acacia peeler, tea picker, and weed hoeer for hire to earn extra income.

Now her eldest daughter is in college and her second son is in 10th grade, but she fell ill again. Her brain tumor has once again caused her family to suffer. She has to worry about her children's education and borrow money to go to the hospital to treat her own illness. Thanks to the help of her siblings and relatives, she was able to have surgery to remove the brain tumor at Tan Trieu K Hospital (Hanoi) in mid-July 2023.

She thought the surgery was successful and her health would recover, but during a recent check-up, the doctor said the tumor in her brain was still there and needed another surgery to remove it.

In the previous surgery, her family had to borrow nearly 100 million VND from everywhere, not knowing where to pay. Now for the next surgery, she and her children do not know where to borrow. The poor mother said in tears: "The Head Doctor of the Neurosurgery Department of a hospital in Ho Chi Minh City said that the cost of this brain surgery is about 180-200 million VND. Many times I thought about giving up, because my family is too poor, my children are still in school, if I continue to go to the hospital for treatment, it will make my children suffer.

Understanding her family situation, her two children are well-behaved. The eldest daughter, Tran Thi Linh, is in her fourth year at the University of Foreign Languages ​​- Hue University. Every summer and Tet, Linh tries to find extra work. Last year, during Tet, it was cold and rainy, so every night Linh rode her motorbike from her home (Thanh An commune) to Vinh City wholesale market to get dong leaves to sell. Linh said: "Going to get goods at night like that is quite dangerous, every time I take my motorbike out of the house, my mother worries, but I have no other choice."

The youngest son, Tran Cong Thong, is studying in grade 10 at Nguyen Canh Chan High School. Since his mother fell ill and had to borrow money for treatment, family life has been difficult. Cong intended to quit school, but with the encouragement of his mother and sister, he continued to go to class.

Over the phone, Linh shared: Since my father passed away, I have been working extra during the summer vacation to earn money to help my mother. When I went to university, I also did many jobs: cashier, waiter, tutoring children. My knowledge base is relatively good, I can tutor and teach any subject, so many parents trust me. In addition, I always strive to study and win scholarships. I received the "Tiep suc den truoc" scholarship from Tuoi tre newspaper, SCRANTON scholarship 2022, and scholarships to encourage learning from businesses...

“My father passed away and my mother is seriously ill. I never thought that one day I would have to fall into such a difficult situation. Now I only hope that kind-hearted people and benefactors will help and support me so that I can have enough money to treat my mother. I hope my mother will soon get well so that she can see her children grow up and live the rest of her days peacefully with her children because she has worked so hard,” Linh said.

Talking about the situation of Ms. Thao and her children, everyone in Thanh An commune sympathizes. Mr. Nguyen Trong Thanh - Head of An Phu hamlet, Thanh An commune shared: Her husband passed away, she raised her children alone, now she has a brain tumor, Ms. Thao's family's situation is extremely difficult. To treat the disease, she sold all the valuable things in the house. Ms. Thao's family situation really needs the help of the community.

Please send any help to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thao, An Phu hamlet, Thanh An commune, Thanh Chuong district, Nghe An province. Phone number:0376 538 499Bank account number:107872213049, Tran Thi Linh (daughter), VietinBank. Or Nghe An Newspaper Media Department No. 378, Le Nin Avenue, Vinh City. Phone number02388 600 006