Mother works for hire to raise 2 children with serious and terminal illnesses

That is the pitiful situation of the family of Ms. Le Thi Chau (born 1967) in Nghi Xuan village, Thanh Lam commune (Thanh Chuong).

An accident while working for hire in 2010 caused her husband - Mr. Nguyen Van Lam (born in 1967) to suffer brain damage, 3 broken pelvis bones and stay in one place for more than a year, all daily activities and meals had to be helped by relatives in the family. From then on, Ms. Chau went to work for hire everywhere, doing whatever people hired her to do, saving every penny to pay for her husband's medical expenses and to raise her children.

Feeling sorry for his mother's hardship, their eldest son, Nguyen Van Tien (born in 1990), also found a job everywhere to earn money to send home to support his mother. Although life was full of hardship, the whole family loved each other and tried to overcome it together.

Every time his health insurance medication runs out, Mr. Tien has to go home to rest because of his stage 2 chronic kidney failure. Photo: Diep Phuong

But the hardships did not stop there. 3 years ago, while working, Tien often felt tired and had back pain. At first, he thought it was just a normal pain so he did not go to the doctor. When the pain in his stomach became severe, he went to the hospital and was diagnosed with colon disease and took medicine. Although the stomach pain was relieved, after a few days his whole body began to swell and he had difficulty breathing.

Seeing that, the family rushed to borrow money to take her to Nghe An General Hospital for examination and treatment. The whole family was shocked when they heard the results: chronic kidney failure stage 2, glomerulonephritis and recurrent nephrotic syndrome. Holding back her grief, Ms. Chau applied to work as a maid for a family in the city to earn money for medicine and go to the hospital to take care of her child.

The misfortune did not stop there, when in early February, her youngest son, Nguyen Van Tam (born 2000), had an accident on his way home from school. The strong collision caused him to be seriously injured, with a broken leg, a fractured jawbone and brain damage. He has now been transferred to the Hanoi Eye Hospital after undergoing three surgeries at the Nghe An General Hospital.

Ms. Chau with her youngest son who was seriously injured after the accident. Photo: NVCC

Meanwhile, after the accident 8 years ago, Mr. Lam's health and memory have declined so much that he cannot earn a living. The whole family now relies on Ms. Chau's monthly salary of 4 million VND as a maid.

To have money to treat the two children, the family had to sell all valuable assets in the house: 4 cows, a herd of goats... and borrow from banks, relatives, and neighbors for nearly 200 million VND, with interest compounding every day, but the two brothers' illnesses still did not improve.

Mr. Lam had to sell his calf, which was less than 3 months old, to get money to treat his two children. Photo: Diep Phuong

Ms. Dang Thi Dung - Vice President of Nghi Xuan Village Women's Union, Thanh Lam Commune said: Mr. Lam's family is a poor household, the most difficult family in the village and currently has no money to treat his two children. Therefore, in addition to the support of the locality and neighbors, we hope to receive support from benefactors near and far to help the couple's two sons have the conditions to be treated.

Please send any help to:

Mr. Nguyen Van Lam, Ms. Le Thi Chau, Nghi Xuan village, Thanh Lam commune, Thanh Chuong district (Nghe An). Phone number: 0394.990.241

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