Poor mother helplessly watches her son fight death

(Baonghean.vn) – The family is broke and unable to continue to find money to pay for her son's medical treatment. Mrs. Tran Thi Tam (Hamlet 10, Hung Thong Commune - Hung Nguyen) had to swallow her tears as she watched her son's life being counted day by day.

For many months, Le Tien Dat (born in 1990), Mrs. Tam's son, has been in a coma and is being treated at Hung Nguyen District General Hospital. Day and night, working hard to take care of her sick son, Mrs. Tam is exhausted, always carrying the heavy fear of losing her son.

For over a year, Mrs. Tam has not had time to visit home once, since her son became seriously ill, her home is the hospital corridor. All the makeshift activities, deprivation, hunger, cold clothes are nothing to her compared to the pain of her only son who is fighting death day and night.

For over a year now, Ms. Tam has been taking care of her only son who is in a coma. Photo: Ha Linh

She still remembers very clearly the dark day that came to mother and son on March 21, 2016. Dat had just come home from work, sat down to rest and had not yet dried his sweat when he suddenly became stiff, his hands shook, his left leg was numb and he had difficulty walking. His family immediately took him to the provincial General Hospital for emergency care. The doctors determined that Dat had a brain vascular malformation and advised the family to take him to Bach Mai Hospital for early surgery.

In an urgent situation, she received support from her children, relatives, and borrowed money from the village. The initial amount was for endoscopic surgery from the groin to the brain to place a stent for Dat; the cost was 130 million VND. After that, he continued to have a second surgery last April. After the surgery, the doctors said the success rate was 80%.

Dat's 6 months of treatment at Bach Mai Hospital cost hundreds of millions of dong, the cost of two surgeries alone was 250 million.

However, seeing her son able to slowly walk, Mrs. Tam was happy and hoped that as long as there was life, there would be property. Following the treatment regimen of Bach Mai Hospital, she took Dat back to the Provincial General Hospital for rehabilitation treatment.

After 3 months of treatment, Dat was still unable to walk when he suddenly had a seizure and fell into a coma. After emergency treatment, Dat was treated for another 2 months but did not recover. Doctors at the General Hospital advised the family to transfer Dat to Bach Mai Hospital. But Mrs. Tam could not manage or borrow money anymore. She had sold all the family assets that could be sold and had also borrowed money everywhere. Helpless, Mrs. Tam had to hold back her tears and take her son to Hung Nguyen District General Hospital for treatment to reduce costs, hoping for a miracle to happen.

Hung Nguyen General Hospital created conditions and supported Ms. Tam's son to receive treatment at the hospital and helped her with daily living expenses. Photo: Ha Linh

Doctor Tran Xuan Minh - Head of the Emergency Resuscitation Department - Hung Nguyen Hospital said: "Dat was admitted to the hospital with a medical record of post-operative coma, pneumonia and convulsions. The hospital has cured the pneumonia and convulsions. Now he has to be transferred to a higher level, but due to his family's circumstances, the hospital has created the best conditions for Dat to stay."

Mrs. Tam and her husband have 4 children. Her husband, Mr. Le Van Ngo, is a disabled veteran with 61% disability. Due to the effects of the war, his health has declined and he is constantly sick. He passed away in 2006. Mrs. Tam works hard to raise her 4 children and pay off the debt for his medical treatment.

After his children grew up and got married, Dat, the only son, lived with his mother. He loved his mother, was filial, and worked hard to support his family. After graduating from the University of Industry, with a degree in information technology engineering, Dat was hired to work for an electronics company specializing in installing software for hospitals.

The first salary that the son brought home, although not enough to compensate for his mother, also lit up hope for the future for the poor family. However, disaster struck, ending his youth and his dream of being a spiritual and material support for his old mother who had been through a lifetime of hardship...

For over a year, during the day, Mrs. Tam has been taking care of her son, and at night she sits on a plastic chair, her head leaning against her son, listening to his breathing. There has not been a single moment when she dares to sleep, for fear that when she wakes up, she will lose her son. She also does not dare to leave her son's hospital room even for a single step. Her family's old, shabby house is only a few kilometers from the hospital, but for over a year she has not once set foot home.

All of her daily living expenses were donated by the Board of Directors and staff of Hung Nguyen General Hospital. The hospital created conditions for her son to stay in a separate room, opposite the room of the Head Doctor to support the fastest emergency care possible. The noble gesture of the doctors of Hung Nguyen General Hospital for Mrs. Tam's family gradually spread.

Several departments and agencies in the district have supported and helped her family. But the amount of money needed to save Dat's life is up to hundreds of millions of dong; something that Mrs. Tam never dared to dream of. Helplessly watching her son fight the disease, Mrs. Tam always prays day and night for a miracle to help her son have a chance to live.

Ha Linh