Burdened with debt for child's medical treatment

Ho Sy Nam (born in 1976) and Nguyen Thi Thanh Tam (born in 1980) have been poor for many years. Nam has a heart disease and is in poor health and cannot do heavy work. They are farmers and have very difficult circumstances, so they have little opportunity to take care of their children. They have two children, the eldest son is Ho Sy Quang (born in 2009) who is in 3rd grade, and the daughter is Ho Thi Phuong (born in 2013).

Baby Ho Thi Phuong (left) is often sick. Photo: Ha Linh

Although the youngest daughter, Ho Thi Phuong, was weak since childhood, often sick and wheezing, Nam's family often bought medicine themselves or got herbal medicine for their child because they could not afford to go to the hospital for examination. Phuong became increasingly frail, spoke little, smiled little, did not like to communicate and had slow thinking. At the age of 4, she could only babble a few simple words.

In September 2016, at Thanh Xuan Kindergarten, during a routine health check-up for children, Phuong was found to have a leaky heart valve. The doctor explained that Phuong's illness would cause her to grow slowly and have many dangerous complications if not treated early. Nam's family had to borrow money to take their child to the Provincial General Hospital for examination. Phuong was advised by the doctors to have surgery to patch the ventricular septal defect, with an estimated cost of over 70 million VND.

The couple took on a farm, but they still lacked enough to feed and educate their children. The family's house was too dilapidated, so the couple borrowed tens of millions from their brother and cousin to renovate it. Before the house was finished and the debt was paid, they discovered their child had a serious illness. The cost of medical treatment for their child was too great, and the couple did not know where to turn.

In the simple house of Mr. Nam and Ms. Tam's family. Photo: Ha Linh

Phuong's health is getting worse and worse as her illness gets worse. Seeing her daughter having difficulty breathing and her face turning purple, the couple is speechless with pain and fear. Feeling sorry for their sick daughter, they decided to ask relatives to guarantee a loan from the Social Policy Bank for their daughter's treatment.

In April 2017, Phuong had surgery to repair her ventricular septal defect at the Cardiology Department - Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital. Although the fear of losing her child was relieved, Nam's family was burdened with debt; making it difficult for him and his wife to eat or sleep. For 10 months now, his family has not been able to pay back a single penny of debt, while the debt of 70 million VND continues to compound.

Sharing about her family's situation, Ms. Tam sobbed: "Every year, my husband and I grow about 1 ton of rice, just enough for the whole family to eat, not enough money left to pay off the debt. While the debt is so large, the family will probably have to sell the house to pay off the debt, because we don't know where to turn."

Mr. Nguyen Khanh Thanh - Chairman of Thanh Xuan Commune People's Committee said: Mr. Nam and Ms. Tam's family is the most difficult in the commune, both husband and child have serious illnesses, and are carrying a debt that is difficult to pay due to the child's medical treatment. Although the commune is interested in mobilizing support for the family, the people in the commune still have many economic difficulties, so the mobilized resources are limited. We hope for the attention and support of the community to share the difficulties and help the family overcome the difficulties.

Please send any help to the address: Nguyen Thi Thanh Tam (Xuan Dong hamlet, Thanh Xuan commune, Thanh Chuong); Phone number: 01669.722.153.

Or Publishing and Social Activities Department - Nghe An Newspaper (No. 3 Lenin Avenue, Hung Phuc Ward, Vinh City).