Nghe An young man's leg crushed by elevator while saving 5-year-old boy

While saving the 5-year-old son of the owner of a bedding factory, Le Van Loc had his left leg crushed by an elevator. Photo: GĐCC

Loc's house is located in a deep alley in a village near the Lam River in Thanh Tuong Commune, Thanh Chuong District. The already deserted house has become even more desolate. For the past half month, Loc's parents in Hanoi have been following their son from one hospital to another to treat his legs, leaving only Loc's youngest sister, who is in 11th grade, at home.

“After a week in the hospital, my father had to call home and ask my uncle to sell all the cows, pigs, chickens, and tons of rice, and send the money to Hanoi to pay for Loc’s hospital fees. Now there is nothing of value left in the house,” Loc’s sister choked.

The cost for Loc to undergo two surgeries has reached hundreds of millions of dong. Photo: GĐCC

Born into a farming family, Loc's father, Mr. Le Van Tu, was often sick. Loc's mother, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Quy, became the pillar of the family, working abroad to earn money to support Loc's three brothers' education. But after several years in Malaysia, the money Mrs. Quy earned was only enough to pay off the bank loan and repair the house to make it more durable and not enough to make ends meet. Pitying their father's poor health and their mother's hard work, after finishing high school, Loc and his brothers both found extra jobs, learned a trade and supported themselves, helping their mother raise their youngest sister's education.

From a healthy young man, Loc now has to lie still and suffer from lifelong disabilities. Photo: NVCC

In early October, Loc asked his parents to go to Hanoi to work for hire, waiting for the military draft examination to return. Mr. Le Van Thuyet, Loc's uncle, said: "Loc's dream is to join the army, to be trained in a military environment to become more mature. Then, he will go to vocational school or go abroad to work, to earn some capital to start a business. However, an unexpected accident happened, so he had to give up everything..."

After arriving in Hanoi, Loc applied for a job at a bedding factory in Dong Anh. After 10 days, Loc had an accident. Mr. Le Van Tu, Loc's father, said: "I heard that on that day, Loc was supposed to follow the car to Quang Ninh to import goods, but he asked to stay and work in the factory. While working, he saw a 5-year-old child, the owner's son, approaching the elevator to play, almost getting stuck. Without hesitation, Loc rushed over and pulled the child out. Unfortunately, Loc's left leg was crushed by the elevator. At that time, there was no one in the factory, Loc fainted, and it took nearly an hour for him to regain consciousness and call for help. Loc was taken to Viet Duc Hospital (Hanoi) in an unconscious state, with a lot of blood loss, his lower leg and thigh crushed by the machine, and his foot tendons severed. He has undergone 2 surgeries but his condition has not improved. On Thursday of this week, Loc will undergo the 3rd surgery."

After days of staying up all night at the hospital taking care of her child, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Quy, with sunken eyes and a haggard face, still had not recovered from her shock: “Loc is a healthy, agile, resourceful and well-behaved child. Now seeing him lying motionless on the bed, wrapped in white bandages, surrounded by wires and IVs, unable to eat or drink anything, as a mother, my heart aches. It is so heartbreaking! To have money for surgery for our child, the family sold all valuable assets and borrowed money everywhere. Loc has no insurance, and the hospital costs are expensive (hospital fees are nearly 1 million VND/day, blood costs are 2.7 million VND/day). After nearly 2 weeks in the hospital, the cost of treatment for him has now reached hundreds of millions. For the next surgeries, the family does not know where to find money or borrow money.”

From a healthy young man with many good future plans, an accident happened while saving someone, 18-year-old Le Van Loc had to suffer pain and disability for life. Meanwhile, Loc's family's circumstances are difficult, in order to help Loc have more expenses to cover the long days in the hospital, many individuals and organizations have called for donations, sold books, and sold roses to raise funds. Currently, the family is in great need of the support and help of organizations and individuals.

Please send any help to: Mr. Le Van Tu (Loc's father). Phone number: 0386.228.649. Account number: 3615 205 172 845, Agribank, Thanh Chuong branch.