Nghe An: The suffering of a woman with tumors all over her body

(Baonghean) - At the foot of Ru Moi in hamlet 8, Nam Loc commune (Nam Dan) there is a woman living alone, without husband or children because of her strange, ugly body.

Ms. Bui Thi Ha (born 1966) has a father who was a soldier fighting against the French, and a mother who raised soldiers from 1968 to 1972, recognized by the State. The family has 6 children, of which the younger sister has an eye defect, and Ms. Ha has congenital neurofibromatosis, with tumors all over her body. Her siblings got married one by one, and she lives with her parents in a makeshift house.

In 1993, her father passed away, and in 2000, her mother followed her father to return to her grandparents and ancestors. She lived alone in a small house at the foot of Ru Moi. The house was already old and had been dismantled from the dike and rebuilt. The rafters and batten were eaten away by termites, the roof tiles were bent, and the walls were built of limestone with little cement, so they were cracked in many places. Many days when it rained and the wind was strong, she was afraid that the house would collapse and had to run to a neighbor's house for shelter.

The poor woman's whole body was covered with painful boils.

In 2008, knowing her situation, the commune government assigned policy officers to create a policy for the disabled so that she could receive benefits. Currently, she receives a monthly allowance of 415,000 VND. The garden has about 20 lemon trees, and the rocks and gravel are uneven, so she has no income. When she is healthy, she also wants to find something to do to support herself and pay for medicine, but because of her illness, she does not dare to leave the village.

Ms. Bui Thi Ha is cooking a meal in the shabby kitchen.

The tumors grew larger and larger, the pain increased, she went to the hospital for examination and was referred to Hanoi for surgery. After surgery at Bach Mai Hospital twice, the tumors in her right leg continued to grow, she was referred to Viet Duc Hospital for surgery, but the hospital fee was too high, she had to hold back her tears and go home, buying painkillers to take.

Now, she has an insurance book for the poor and disabled, but her health is weak, and she has no money to travel, so she has to stay home and accept the tormenting pain. Alone in the empty house, lying down every night listening to the sounds of insects and the echoes of the forest, she can only cry silently. Feeling sorry for her miserable fate, having no one to rely on, then give her some health to take care of herself, but... The hunger, the cold weather or poverty can be endured, but the illness and loneliness torment her day and night, making her self-consciousness grow bigger and bigger.

Showing me the cracks and the dilapidated tiled roof, the policy officer told Ms. Ha: "Whenever it rains or is windy, you must go to a neighbor's house to take shelter. Don't stay in the house, in case it collapses, no one will know to save you."

Ms. Ha's house with big cracks.

Ms. Ha confided: That many times she wanted to die to end the pain and suffering, but she kept thinking about her parents who told her over and over again before they died, no matter how sick they were, they must not think of suicide, so she had to swallow her tears and try to live. Many sleepless nights, she just wished she had no memory, that she was mentally disabled, and also wished that if the house collapsed, God would let her go to heaven, absolutely not let her live injured or disabled... If she had to live, she wished for just a small house that was tight enough, strong enough, because many rainy and windy nights she just sat in the corner of the bed, not daring to sleep, nor daring to run to the neighbor's house in the middle of the night...

Mr. Nguyen Huu Can - Chairman of the Association for the Support of People with Disabilities and Orphans of Nam Loc Commune said: "The commune also gave Ms. Ha 10 million VND to repair her house. But her house is seriously degraded, if it is torn down it will collapse and cannot be repaired, and Ms. Ha does not have the money to rebuild it, so she can only leave it as it is...".

Ha Linh