Poor mother raising sick child

(Baonghean) - Her husband passed away, leaving her with four young children and elderly parents over 80 years old. She struggled to feed her family by buying scrap metal, and to save money on her children's tuition, she asked the school to let her take out the trash every Saturday afternoon. What's even more pitiful is that 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, sobbing.

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

Born unhealthy, her second son, Nguyen Quang Tuan (born in 2006), also suffered from goiter and asthma. For a long time, she did not dare to take her son to the hospital to see what his illness was. 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 in 2012), still cannot speak. The child's body is thin and weak, and she is 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 don't dare to go... He is 5 years old but still can't say "mom" clearly," said Ms. Hung with tears in her eyes, holding her young child 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 porch of the old house and then seeped 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 would not be cold when they went to school, but for her, it 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 all I want is for my grandchildren to 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 with anything, I am also heartbroken," Mrs. Minh shared sadly.

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. There were days when 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 business. Photo: Nguyen Phan

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

Nguyen Phan