Poor mother collects trash for 7 years, takes care of her child in hospital

Holding a large syringe to suck up thin rice porridge, then injecting it into a plastic tube through the nose, that is how Mrs. Vi Thi Toong (born in 1966) feeds her son. When the plastic tube is blocked, the son groans softly, she pauses pumping the porridge, gently strokes his chest, then continues the work. Mrs. Toong performs these movements skillfully, because this has been a daily routine for nearly 7 years.

Mrs. Vi Thi Toong recounted: “He is the second child, after finishing high school he joined the army, in early 2012 he was allowed to go home on leave and unfortunately had a traffic accident, was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury and has been hospitalized ever since. And since that day, I have been here to take care of him, it has been almost 7 years since he has been home.”

Ms. Vi Thi Toong pumps thin porridge through the nose for her son who has a traumatic brain injury and is being treated at Military Hospital 4. Photo: Ho Phuong

Mrs. Toong's family lives in Keo Luc 1 village, Pha Danh commune (Ky Son). Her husband is Luong Van Phuong (born in 1962). They have 4 children (3 boys, 1 girl). Mr. Luong Van Kham (born in 1990) - the accident victim who is being treated at Military Hospital 4 is the second child in the family.

Luong Van Kham was once the pride of his family, clan and village because he studied hard and had many achievements in his studies. After finishing high school, due to difficult circumstances, Kham did not take the university entrance exam but stayed home to help his parents with production. During the military service examination, he registered, passed and was assigned to work at the Military Command of Nghe An province.

During his leave in early 2012, Luong Van Kham unfortunately had a motorbike accident, the strong impact caused him to suffer a traumatic brain injury. Although he had been treated at many hospitals, and his unit and family had made efforts to save him, the severe injury left him paralyzed, almost in a vegetative state.

Ms. Vi Thi Toong helps her son rub his chest when his feeding tube is blocked. Photo: Cong Kien

When their son had an accident, Mr. Luong Van Phuong and his wife Vi Thi Toong sold all their property to pay for his treatment. There was nothing valuable in the house. Despite his old age, Mr. Phuong still had to work hard on the fields, growing rice and corn to make ends meet. Occasionally, he had money to go to Vinh to visit his son. Seeing Kham lying motionless, Mr. Phuong could only hug his son and cry.

As for Mrs. Toong, for nearly 7 years she has not left her son for a single day, has never returned home to visit, and has spent all that time “staying” at the hospital to take care of Kham’s food and medicine. She shared: “All our assets have been sold, there is nothing left, if we bring Kham back, there will be nothing to eat, and no money to buy medicine. Here, we might have a meal, a meal of porridge, and hope that one day he will regain consciousness.”

The basic daily expenses can only depend on Mr. Kham's allowance of more than 700 thousand VND/month. Knowing the difficult situation, the hospital leaders decided to support Mrs. Toong with meals. Along with that, Mr. Kham's unit also regularly cares and supports both mentally and materially, which helps to ease the burden on the unfortunate mother.

Ms. Vi Thi Toong collects scrap and sells it to earn money to pay for her child's treatment. Photo: Ho Phuong

But for those who are determined to live “forever” in the hospital, there will never be enough money for expenses and basic needs. To earn extra money, every day Mrs. Toong goes around the hospital campus to collect plastic bottles, cans and cardboard to bring to the collection points.

Sharing with the poor mother, most of the relatives of patients being treated at Internal Medicine Department 4 and other departments collect scraps to help Mrs. Toong. Thanks to that, she earns an extra 20 thousand VND per day, not a large amount but extremely valuable to the mother who has spent nearly 7 years in the hospital taking care of her paralyzed child.

Doctor Nguyen Duc Anh - Head of Internal Medicine Department 4 said: "Patient Luong Van Kham suffered a severe brain injury, the possibility of recovery is very low, we can only hope for a miracle. Therefore, the treatment will definitely be long-term. Mrs. Toong will probably have to stay here for a long time to take care of her child."