The female teacher and the story of revival from despair

From a dedicated, passionate teacher, illness struck, Ms. Ha became haggard and depressed. Ms. Ha lived through days of despair... Photo: TP

Overcoming misfortune

Her father passed away exactly 4 days before she was born… She was born without knowing her father’s face. She only knew about her father through his portrait on the altar, through the stories of her grandparents and uncles who were her father’s comrades. And the beautiful image of her father - Martyr Dang Van Toi in Cambodia is her consolation, pride, and motivation to overcome her difficult and deprived childhood and rise up in life.

After her husband died, her mother sent her 9-month-old baby, who was still thirsty for breast milk, to her grandparents, who were over 60, to build her own happiness. Since then, she grew up in the love, care, and protection of her grandparents. When she was in 12th grade, her grandfather passed away, leaving her grandmother, who was nearly 80 years old, to raise her grandchild alone.

Overcoming all the difficulties and hardships in life, she was admitted to the Faculty of History, Vinh University. The school is nearly 20 kilometers from home. To save on food and accommodation expenses and to support her elderly grandmother at night, every day on her old bicycle, she struggled to pedal back and forth. On days off, she carried vegetables and bought fresh flowers to sell to earn some spare change to cover the cost of 4 years of university. After graduating, she was lucky to be accepted to teach at Nghi Kieu Secondary School (Nghi Loc) and built a family with a young man from Nghi Lam commune. Having a stable job, a hard-working, loving husband, and obedient children, it seemed that, after all the hardships and misfortunes, happiness had smiled upon her. But life, no one can predict anything...

The Desperate Days

In early March this year, she noticed her tongue was scratchy as if it had a bone in it, and then ulcers appeared. She simply thought it was a mouth ulcer, so she didn't pay much attention. When the symptoms got worse, with pain when chewing and swallowing and difficulty speaking, she went to the hospital. She was shocked to learn that she had tongue cancer. She left her child with relatives and bought a train ticket to Hanoi for a re-examination. The results were the same. The doctor prescribed her radiation therapy and told her to follow a long-term treatment regimen. She was devastated. She fell into despair.

The two children are still too young, so even though she is seriously ill, Ms. Ha still has to take care of the housework and children. Photo: TP

Three months of continuous treatment at the K hospital with 32 radiation treatments, there were many times when the pain tormented her body, her spirit collapsed, she missed her children, worried about the bank debt... it seemed like she could not overcome it. But, at this moment, her biological mother who had left to find her own happiness when she was still very young was by her side, encouraging her, taking care of her, and giving her the spirit to overcome everything. The sacred maternal love warmed her and the sharing from her family and relatives helped her regain her strength and face the disease.

“During my stay at Hanoi K Hospital, my two children were still young, so sometimes I left them at my grandmother's house, sometimes at my uncle's, thinking of my children. Moreover, this disease is long-term and expensive, so after finishing radiation therapy, I asked to return to Nghe An Oncology Hospital to continue treatment to reduce travel and costs.” Then she was admitted to the Oncology Hospital to continue her treatment. After chemotherapy sessions, her body ached like a thousand needles pricking her, she could not eat or drink, her hair fell out, her eyebrows and eyelashes also fell out. Her face was dark, her arms and legs were covered with veins. From a woman with thick black hair, a plump face, always on the go, always busy with schoolwork, housework, and taking care of her children, she became a haggard person, having to be helped when walking, having to be fed when eating, making her feel helpless. But she did not allow herself to fall.

The care, encouragement and sharing of friends and relatives is the motivation for Ms. Ha to overcome her illness. Photo: TP

Every day, from early morning, after taking care of her children's meals and taking them to school, she drives to the hospital alone for check-ups and injections. Resting to relieve her dizziness, quickly slurping a bowl of porridge, quickly sipping milk, she hurriedly gets on the car to go home to prepare meals and do laundry for her children. The house is short of people, her husband is far away. Being sick and in pain is not only understandable, but there are no conditions to rest, and she does not dare to stay in the hospital because her two children at home are still too young, they cannot take care of themselves. More than anyone, her two children need their mother, her husband in a foreign land is working hard, saving every penny to send home with the hope of bringing a miracle to his sick wife...