The tragedy that shook the community of a young Khmu mother

(Baonghean) - Who would have thought that the job of selling gasoline to earn some extra money for Danh and her husband would be the source of disaster. At 5 pm on April 21, Kim Trung (the couple's eldest daughter) came home from school and accidentally played with fire. The fire caught right where the gasoline can was in the room and flared up fiercely.

At that time, Ms. Danh was cooking rice in the kitchen. Seeing smoke and flames rising from her house, Ms. Danh's limbs went limp because she thought her two children were engulfed in flames. After screaming for help, she rushed into the fire hoping to find and save her children. Neighbors rushed to her house and tried to put out the fire. But the fierce fire not only severely burned Ms. Danh's entire body, but also severely burned two other neighbors, Luong Thi Minh and Hoa Me Niem. After the fire was put out, facing that tragic scene, the villagers realized that Ms. Danh's two children were very lucky to have escaped before their mother rushed into the fire. The mother, with her boundless love for her children, did not know that her two children were safe until then. She passed out before being taken out of the fire...

Ms. Cut Thi Danh was transferred to a higher level for treatment. Photo: TH

In the evening, Mr. Thuong returned from the field, shocked by the devastation and the bad news, hurried to Ky Son District Hospital and almost collapsed before his wife's body wrapped in white bandages. Both sides of the family cried their eyes out, holding his two young children in their arms. Because the burns were so severe, after the district hospital gave her first aid and initial treatment, Ms. Danh was transferred to the Provincial Hospital. Here, she was assessed to have 80% of her body burned (4th degree burns), was in a coma, and was in a very critical condition.

Cut Thi Danh and Cut Van Thuong are both Khmu people, living in Xop Phe village, Muong Tip commune, Ky Son border district. Married in 2010, the young couple goes into the forest every day to make a living, going down the stream to catch shrimp and fish to raise their two children (one is 5 years old, the other is 2 years old). In recent years, seeing that people in the commune have bought motorbikes, and the road through the village has been widened, Danh and his wife discussed that every day Thuong would go to Muong Xen town to buy gasoline to sell to serve the people. Unexpectedly...

Ms. Cut Thi Danh was transferred to a higher level for treatment.

Mr. Thuong took his wife to the provincial hospital without a single penny on them. All of their assets, the house and nearly 2 million VND that they had saved for a long time and kept in a pillowcase, were gone. The villagers were also poor... Mr. Thuong's parents thought of selling their cow - their only asset - to have money to take their daughter-in-law to the hospital.

Fortunately for Mr. Thuong's family and what touched him the most was the kindness of the doctors at the Provincial General Hospital and the many relatives of the patients there. Although they did not have the money to pay the hospital fees, the hospital still created the best conditions for emergency treatment for Ms. Danh, guided Mr. Thuong through all the procedures for admission and then transfer.

Having no money for food, Mr. Thuong was given free meals at the hospital cafeteria. Many patients and their families knew about his situation and joined in to support him with meals and phone cards. Mr. Thuong said sadly: "I am truly grateful for the help of the hospital and everyone... Now the biggest worry is whether my wife will survive! We went to Hanoi for treatment but my family did not have a single penny to bring with us."

On the morning of April 24, before getting in the ambulance with his wife to the National Burn Institute (Hanoi), Mr. Thuong shed tears, both feeling sorry for his wife and worried about the cost of treatment for his wife and his two young children who were depending on their grandparents in the poor village. The people present at the Provincial General Hospital at that time donated about 1 million VND to him.

At 4:30 pm on April 24, when we connected the phone to Mr. Thuong, we learned that he had paid all the money he brought out for the hospital fees and was unsure how he would live during his stay there. He said he was only praying for a miracle so that his wife could survive and stay with him and his children.

Mr. Thuong's family really needs the community's sympathy to overcome this disaster. It is known that, in addition to some individuals who helped Mr. Thuong with money to go to Hanoi, the People's Committee of Ky Son district promptly visited his house to visit and support the family with 3 million VND. The district also supported 2 victims who were burned while saving Ms. Danh with 1 million VND each. These two victims, known to have 1 to 3 degree burns, with a high risk of infection, are currently being treated at Ky Son District Hospital.

Thu Huong - Thuy Vinh