Poor mother raising sick child

(Baonghean) - Her husband passed away, leaving behind on her thin shoulders 4 young children, and elderly parents over 80 years old. She alone has to take care of the family's meals by buying scrap metal. To save money for her children's school fees, she asked the school to let her take out the trash every Saturday afternoon. It's even more pitiful when her children are seriously ill.

That poor wife and mother is Ms. Le Thi Hung (born in 1983, residing in Hamlet 10, Thai Son Commune, Do Luong District). About 2 years ago, her husband, Mr. Nguyen Quang Bay (born in 1976), passed away due to illness. During the months of treating her husband, the family's assets "disappeared" and the debts piled up.

Having lost her husband's support, Ms. Hung has to raise four young children alone, the oldest is only 10 years old, the youngest is still in her arms, and her in-laws are over 80 years old. "Even though he is often sick, with him in the house, I can go to work and take care of the family... Now that my children are sick, I only buy medicine for them and don't dare take them to the hospital...", Ms. Hung said through sobs.

Ms. Le Thi Hung with her four children. Photo: Nguyen Phan

Born unhealthy, her second son, Nguyen Quang Tuan (born 2006), also suffered from goiter and asthma. For a long time, she did not dare to take her son to the hospital to check his illness, she only asked for a doctor's prescription to get medicine for him to take gradually. Even more painful, her third daughter, Nguyen Thi My Tam (born 2012), still cannot speak. The child's body is thin and weak, often sick. "The doctors said we should take him to Hanoi for examination, maybe they have a good treatment method so he can speak, but I did not dare to go... He is 5 years old but still cannot say "mom" clearly," Ms. Hung said with tears in her eyes, holding her baby in her arms.

Tam could not speak yet, but when he saw his mother crying, his face was filled with sadness. He looked at his mother without blinking, then crawled into her arms.

In the winter afternoon, the cold wind blew through the thin blinds covering the old house's porch and crept into the house, making the children huddle together. Ms. Hung wished she had a little more money to buy each child a warm coat so that they could go to school without the cold, but for her, that was a big challenge.

On the porch, Ms. Hung's parents-in-law, Mr. Nguyen Quang Cam and Mrs. Hoang Thi Minh, both over 80 years old, sat quietly, their cloudy eyes looking into the distance. The wrinkles of time were deeply imprinted on their aged faces like waves crashing down on this small family. Their hearing was unclear, their eyes were also blurred with the years. "Their father passed away early, now I just hope that the children have enough to eat, go to school, and get medical treatment, then I am very happy. As for us, we can't do anything. I feel sorry for them but I can't help them, I am also heartbroken", Mrs. Minh sadly shared.

Ms. Hung herself also suffered from goiter and pneumonia, and was often sick, so her health was not as good as normal people, she only weighed about 38 kg. Many days the family had no money, she spent all the money to buy medicine for her second son, but she did not dare to buy medicine herself. Being alone to take care of every meal for the whole family made her even more miserable.

Family income depends on scrap metal purchasing. Photo: Nguyen Phan

Every day, in addition to working in the fields, Ms. Hung collects scrap metal, collects bottles, and asks for any job to earn extra income to support her family. She tries to work hard to take care of her children, hoping that she will not collapse on the road because she carries the whole family on her thin shoulders.

Nguyen Phan