Single mother raising daughter with spinal cord cancer

(Baonghean.vn) - Abandoned by his biological mother when he was only 2 days old, the childHo Thi Tu Anhwas adopted by Ms. Ho Thi Chau (born 1965) in Quynh Nghia commune (Quynh Luu). In 2016, she was diagnosed with spinal cord cancer, had to have surgery to remove the tumor and undergo radiation and chemotherapy for nearly a year.

Ms. Chau hopes for a miracle to bring life back to her daughter. Photo: Ha Linh

Meeting us, Ms. Chau choked up as she told us about her unfortunate life: Her family had four sisters, her father joined the army and died, her mother remarried, the sisters took care of each other. Over twenty years old, she got married and moved to Quynh Nghia commune. After ten years of living together, she and her husband still had no children. Their desire to have a child to continue the family line failed, her husband became depressed, became addicted to alcohol, and even neglected his family for days without wanting to come home. She was heartbroken, she longed to have the role of a mother like other women, the wish to have a child to take care of just grew bigger and bigger...

Then, as fate would have it, on January 25, 2003, a friend told her that someone had abandoned a two-day-old baby girl at the Provincial Center for the Protection of Mothers and Children on Le Hong Phong Street (Vinh City). She discussed with her husband the procedure to adopt the baby to bring joy to the family and to have a future support.

But because of that, the couple often quarreled and had conflicts. Because her husband believed that an adopted child would always be an adopted child. By the end of 2003, her husband left her to find new happiness. She worked hard to raise her child alone, loving him as if he were her own child. She stayed single, not "remarried" even though she was still young and had many men pursuing her.

Tu Anh had surgery to remove the tumor but still has to undergo regular radiation therapy. Photo: Ha Linh

She thought that love would return love, but the bitter and cruel fate once again tested the unfortunate woman... In June 2016, she discovered that her child had a tumor. She took her child to the doctor. Initially, she was diagnosed with a lipoma, but after another examination and test, the doctor confirmed that Tu Anh had spinal cord cancer. Ms. Chau heard the bad news like a thunderbolt. She transferred her child to Hospital 103 for treatment and then asked to be transferred to K3 Tan Trieu Hospital. On August 26, 2016, Tu Anh had surgery to remove the tumor, spending 40 million VND for the poor household insurance. After removing the tumor, the hospital has prescribed her 5 rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, each round costing 20 million VND for 15 days, and 5 days of intravenous medication to recuperate. So far, she has had 22 rounds of radiotherapy. Accordingly, every 20 days, the mother and child go to K3 Tan Trieu Hospital (Hanoi) for radiotherapy, then return home for 10 days.

After more than a year of chemotherapy, Tu Anh's hair had almost fallen out, and her mother's tears had gradually dried up. Every morning, out of habit, Tu Anh would cry while holding the comb in her hand. She was heartbroken when she learned that she had been abandoned by her biological mother since birth, and that her illness had worsened, and all the hardships and suffering had been placed on the shoulders of her adoptive mother.

To have money to rebuild the collapsed house and give her child chemotherapy, Ms. Chau had to borrow over 100 million VND from the Policy Bank. Holding the debt book in her hand, she could only cry. Every time she went to the hospital, because she had no money for food, after giving her child chemotherapy, she asked the patient's family and the medical staff in the room to look after her and went to the restaurants outside the hospital gate to ask to wash dishes for a living. Despite her hardship, every time the restaurant owner gave her a bowl of pho, she asked to bring it home for her child and refused to eat it.

Thanks to the wig donated by benefactors, Tu Anh confidently goes to school. Photo: Ha Linh

Mr. To Duy Hien - Chairman of Quynh Nghia Commune People's Committee said: Ms. Chau's situation is really difficult, she borrowed money to rebuild the house, but when she was still unfinished, she discovered that her child was sick, so the debt just kept piling up. The commune government also created favorable conditions to help, but it was nothing compared to the amount of money she needed to treat her child. I hope there will be benefactors to support and help her and her child.

Please send any help to Ms. Ho Thi Chau, phone number: 01253.847.697.

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

Ha Linh