Blind mother raising child with cerebral palsy

(Baonghean.vn) - Her husband died before her son was born. Her son was born with cerebral palsy and now, at 8 years old, still cannot walk or talk. The poor mother is also blind in both eyes.

That is the tragic situation of Ms. Cao Thi Thanh (born 1976) in hamlet 8, Dien Loc commune, Dien Chau district.

Thanh's family has 7 brothers and sisters, she is the youngest daughter. When Thanh was born, he was normal like all the other brothers and sisters in the family. But in 1988, there was a flu epidemic in the village, Thanh got sick, had a fever that wouldn't go away. The family was too poor and had many children, Thanh's mother also took him to the clinic to be examined and given medicine, but the fever wouldn't go away. More than a month later, when he recovered, Thanh's eyes gradually became dim, then he became completely blind and couldn't see anything.

Blind since the age of 12, Ms. Cao Thi Thanh takes care of her child out of habit. Photo: Ha Linh

The brothers and sisters in the family got married one by one and moved out. Only Thanh and his older brother Cao Duc Truyen remained in the house. The house was divided in half, one half for Thanh and his mother, the other half for his brother's family. In 2008, Thanh announced to his family that he was getting married. The whole family was happy when their daughter, who had just become blind and was over 32 years old, found someone to depend on. After a simple wedding, Thanh became a bride in Dien Tho commune. Her husband was also disabled and not as agile and active as others. At the end of 2008, when Thanh was getting ready to go to the clinic to give birth, she received news that her husband had died from drowning while herding buffalo.

3 days after her husband’s funeral, Ms. Thanh gave birth to a son, Dang Quang Trung. The baby was born looking handsome and smart, but all his movements and eyes were not like those of other normal children. One of his feet was turned up, and as he grew older, Quang Trung showed more and more abnormality, all his reflexes and reactions were unconscious. At 1 year old, 2 years old, then 3 years old… Trung grew up, but he was not smart.

Being blind and having lost her husband, Thanh asked her mother-in-law to let her return to her parents' house to rely on her brothers and sisters, even though their family's life was still difficult. When the commune government supported her with 7.2 million VND and lent her 8 million VND from the Policy Bank to demolish the temporary house, all the family members gathered together, some with cement, some with rice, some with bricks to build a small house in the garden for Thanh and her children to live in.

Despite being supported by the Orthopedic Trauma Center with prosthetic legs, Trung still cannot stand up or walk. Photo: Ha Linh

Her son was sick, and Ms. Thanh also took him to several hospitals for treatment, the longest treatment being the Orthopedic Trauma Center with the hope that her son could stabilize his sprained foot so he could walk again. But the trips back and forth were costly, the foot could not be fixed, and her son's cerebral palsy had no results. Ms. Thanh is blind, so she can only serve her son out of habit, such as chewing rice for him to eat, changing, washing, and cleaning him, but most of the time she had to rely on the help of her 86-year-old mother. Despite her old age, weak health, and difficulty walking, her mother is still the main pillar and support for her unfortunate daughter and her poor grandchild.

Many times when she had no food or ran out of rice, she ran to her son who lived nearby to ask for help.

The main source of income for the three of them is the social security system, in which Mrs. De receives 270 thousand/month, Ms. Thanh receives 405 thousand/month for the disabled; Trung, who is especially heavy, receives 675 thousand, and a number of other systems. The total is nearly 1.9 million VND for three mouths to feed and all the costs of medicine, illness, and living expenses are included in that amount. Even the blind association fund of several tens of thousands each year is not enough to pay, so other members support to pay for her.

Although she is 86 years old, her elderly mother is still the main support for her unfortunate daughter and poor grandchild. Photo: Ha Linh

Ms. Thanh was given a breeding cow by the commune to provide additional economic support, but she could not take the cow to the field, so the main food was straw and stubble brought by neighbors in the village, so the cow was also skinny.

When taking her son for treatment, Ms. Thanh was also advised to take him to the Central Hospital to get better medicine and more suitable support equipment, but she did not have money to cover the travel expenses. Moreover, she was blind, so she could only helplessly watch her son get sick without being able to do anything. Every day, looking at her sick son, and being blind herself, Ms. Thanh was very worried that tomorrow her mother would return to her grandparents and ancestors, not knowing how she and her son would live. Ms. Thanh only wished to have some money for her and her son to go to Hanoi for examination and treatment so that her son could walk again. To make Ms. Thanh's wish come true, she hopes that kind-hearted readers near and far will each support a little so that she can take her son to Hanoi for treatment.

Please send all donations to Ms. Cao Thi Thanh in Hamlet 8, Dien Loc Commune (Dien Chau).

Or Publishing Department - Social Affairs, Nghe An Newspaper, No. 3 Le Nin Avenue - Hung Phuc Ward, Vinh City, Nghe An.

Ha Linh