Nghe An: Child with 'elephantiasis' has to care for mother with epilepsy.

(Baonghean.vn) - Unlike his siblings, Mr. Lam Van Sau (49 years old) from Hamlet 11, Quynh Thach commune (Quynh Luu district) has suffered from numerous tumors of various sizes on his body since childhood, making life extremely difficult.

The tumors made it very difficult for Mr. Sau to move around and carry out his daily activities.

Mr. Sau slowly recounted his past with sadness and helplessness: "When I was born, I was perfectly normal, showing no signs of illness. Then a few itchy red spots appeared, but my family thought it was nothing serious and didn't take me to the doctor."

As he grew older, lumps and bumps began to appear on his body, resembling blisters, and the more he scratched, the itchier they became. After a while, his body became completely covered in these lumps and bumps.

But the most distressing thing was the large tumor on my left leg, which made walking and daily activities extremely difficult. Although I desperately wanted to see a doctor to find out the cause and get treatment, unfortunately, my family was too poor, and my siblings' families were also struggling, so my condition just worsened.

Once, when he was eligible for an examination at Bach Mai Hospital (Hanoi), the doctors informed him that he had neurofibromatosis. His condition was treatable, but each surgery would cost approximately 20-50 million VND and would require multiple operations.

Faced with such a huge sum of money, he reluctantly took the medicine home hoping it would alleviate his symptoms, and accepted living with the disease from then until now. Day by day, the tumors spread all over his body and legs, draining his strength, causing him to shrink, his face gaunt, and only the protruding lumps visible.

Even more heartbreaking, his mother, Dang Thi Nguyen (85 years old), suffers from mental instability, alternating between periods of lucidity and delusion. Furthermore, his youngest uncle, Le Van Nghia (born in 1978), is also not as mentally sound as a normal person.

Suffering from illness, Mr. Sau also has to take care of his elderly mother who suffers from epilepsy.

Currently, Mr. Nghia has been kindly taken in by a relative in the South to work on a coffee plantation to help the family. Now, only Mr. Sau and Mrs. Nguyen are left at home. Mr. Sau's large tumor has spread to the ground, making him unable to work anymore, and his mother is elderly and frequently ill, often having epileptic seizures when the weather changes.

Regarding the family's circumstances, Mr. Duong Dinh Tuan, head of Hamlet 11 in Quynh Thach commune, said: "Mr. Sau's family is truly in a very difficult situation. They have been classified as a poor household for a long time, and with his illness and the need to care for his elderly mother, their difficulties are compounded. The local authorities always try to help the family, but resources are limited."

Duc Chung