The pitiful situation of a 7th grade male student taking care of his mentally ill father

Being at Trong's house in hamlet 4, Nam Anh commune when the sun was at its zenith, witnessing the scene of father and son giving each other food and water through the window, I felt even more sorry for his family situation.

Inside the window, Nguyen Van Hung (45 years old) with a thin body, a haggard face, eyes blank and emotionless. It seemed that he did not recognize his youngest son who was giving him food. After taking the food, he opened it up and ate it quickly, then threw the things into a corner of the house.

Inside the house, everything was messy and cluttered, the music from the music player was blaring loudly. Trong said: "Because my dad wasmental illness, often wandering around, so the family had to lock him in the house to take care of him. Every day, he only knew how to play music, sometimes playing it all night, making the people around him unable to sleep.

The two-room house where Trong's family lives. Photo: Huy Thu

According to Mr. Hung’s son, his family used to do business in Dak Lak province. Although both husband and wife were hard-working and diligent, life was always full of risks and difficulties. First, the eldest son died of a serious illness.

In 2015, when his wife, Nguyen Thi Nga, became seriously ill, the family had to move back to their hometown due to financial difficulties. His wife passed away that year, leaving him and his two young children (the youngest son was only 7 years old).

Feeling sorry for the orphaned father and son, the maternal family gave the two-room house to the father and son to live in. Mrs. Nguyen Thi Sau (66 years old), Hung's mother-in-law, said: "My family built this house for our son to live in, but he went to the South to work far away, so we gave it to Hung and his father."

Every day, Mr. Hung often followed the people in the neighborhood to work as a construction worker to earn money to make a living. Life seemed miserable, but misfortune continued to befall his family.

Because Mr. Hung often wanders around, his relatives have to lock him in the house for safety. Photo: Huy Thu

In early 2020, Mr. Hung showed unusual signs and was mentally unstable. Around April last year, he left home and wandered around, once going all the way to Thanh Nho commune (Thanh Chuong), nearly 50 km away from home, and his relatives had to go find him and bring him back.

To limit his movements, his relatives thought of locking him in the house to take care of him. From then on, day and night, he just wandered around the 2-room house, lying down, sitting, and screaming. Every time someone opened the door, he just wanted to run out into the yard. He quickly grabbed the snake bags containing his belongings, and muttered, “walking on this land.”

Every day, his biological mother in neighborhood 6 or his son would bring him food and water through the window. Occasionally, relatives would open the door to clean, wash, and bathe him.

Trong and his father often pass food and drinks through the window. Photo: Huy Thu

Ms. Nguyen Thi Sau added that Mr. Hung's father, Mr. Nguyen Van Tan (born in 1940), was a veteran of the anti-American war. He was affected by Agent Orange and also suffered from mental illness before his death. Whether Mr. Hung suffered from the after-effects of Agent Orange or not is a concern for many people in his family.

Pitying her son-in-law for being seriously ill and her grandchild who had lost his mother, over the years, Mrs. Sau has taken care of her two grandchildren on behalf of her daughter. Trong's older brother, who was "short and light", had to drop out of school early, while Trong had finished grade 7E at Anh Xuan Secondary School.

Every day after school, he returns home with his grandmother to take care of his father. Hung has also been brought back to Hamlet 6 by his mother several times to be raised. However, both his grandmothers are in poor health, so the main responsibility of taking care of his father is still looking after Trong.

Nguyen Van Trong shared: “My mother died after a drug overdose. My father also has a mental illness. My family is so unfortunate.”

Every time an acquaintance opened the door, Mr. Hung wanted to pack his things and leave. Photo: Huy Thu

It has been more than a year since he fell ill, but due to family circumstances, Mr. Hung has not been taken to the hospital by his relatives.examination and treatment. It seems that his illness is getting worse, while the children are not old enough to take care of their father.

His son's greatest concern and desire right now is to take his father to the hospital. Trong did not hide his sadness: "We have talked to grandma about taking dad to the hospital since last year, we have discussed it over and over again, but due to difficulties, our family has not been able to take dad to the hospital yet."

Nguyen Van Trong. Photo: Huy Thu

Mr. Tran Van Quyet - Secretary of the Youth Union of Nam Anh commune said: "The family situation of Nguyen Van Trong is one of the most difficult and unfortunate in the commune. To share with him, the local Youth Union has launched a fundraising movement, calling on agencies, units, benefactors, youth union members, young pioneers, and philanthropists inside and outside the commune to help."

More than ever, Trong’s family is in dire need of the community’s support. Each heart is a source of encouragement and sharing that is extremely necessary for him.

Please send any help to:

* Nguyen Van Trong, Hamlet 4, Nam Anh Commune, Nam Dan District, Nghe An Province.

* Publishing - Advertising and Social Activities Department, Nghe An Newspaper, No. 3, Le Nin Avenue, Vinh City, Nghe An. Tel: 02388.600.006