Female 'warrior' against the epidemic and the journey to overcome adversity

Storms and Miracles

With an average total income of around 4 million VND, without policies to exempt and reduce tuition fees for poor households, Ms. Hien would have difficulty paying for her two children's education. Before the disaster struck, her family was considered well-off with a decent house.

Ms. Hien is originally from Hai Duong. At the age of 21, while working as a factory worker, she met Mr. Thai Viet Hao (Nghi Van, Nghi Loc). Falling in love with his calm and mature personality, she followed him to Nghe An to be her daughter-in-law.

In addition to her role as wife and mother, Ms. Hien is also her husband's eyes and hands. Photo: DT

In 2014, while working at a garage, Thai Viet Hao accidentally became the victim of an assassination attempt using explosives. The horrific explosion blew off both of his hands and completely destroyed his face. She did not have a stable job and her second son was only 15 months old. Nguyen Thi Hien was busy borrowing money everywhere, mortgaging her house and selling everything she could to treat her husband. After 3 months of going to all the hospitals from local to central, Mr. Hao was able to save his life but could not save his hands and eyes. From then on, in addition to her job as a housewife, she took on her husband's work and became his hands and eyes.

Recalling those difficult days, she suppressed her emotions: “For me, the biggest difficulty I had to overcome was to keep my spirits up. Even though I was extremely depressed, I always had to appear strong and cheerful to reassure and soothe my husband’s loss and the worries of my relatives.” Those were the days when she frantically searched for her husband because he tried to run away from home to escape his boredom and disappointment. Those were the days when she felt disappointed because her second son would not let her hold him because he did not recognize his mother after many days apart. Those were the days when she had to listen to people criticize her for being smart, criticizing her for being stupid, urging her to leave her husband. Those were the days when her heart felt like salt was rubbed into it when she had to witness her parents’ sorrow… She tried her best to face everything as calmly as possible.

Because she is busy, Ms. Hien always tries to finish all her work quickly to spend time with her children. Photo: DT

To complete all her work, Ms. Hien often wakes up early in the morning and works until 10 pm, from shopping, cooking to taking her children to school, from farming to raising chickens, from personal hygiene to feeding and brushing her husband's teeth, from teaching her children to cleaning the house...

Difficult, hardBut Ms. Hien still sees other joys. That joy comes from the care and love of neighbors and relatives, from her understanding and obedient eldest daughter, from her husband's positive changes every day... "My husband and I will never forget that, in the midst of hardship, villagers were willing to donate blood to save my husband, strangers donated money to support us, the local government created conditions for me to have a stable job at Nghe An Lung Hospital, my brothers and friends took care of my children when I was busy... Therefore, we must live well, to thank everyone, to thank life", Ms. Hien confided.

AS A THANK YOU

At Nghe An Lung Hospital, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien works as an employee of the Infection Control Department. Her work includes cleaning medical instruments and equipment, washing linens, collecting waste, cleaning, and sanitizing rooms, and is often exposed to chemicals and highly infectious waste. Normally, the work is hard, and during the pandemic, the work is even more risky. But when talking about it, she only talks about joy: "Working close to home, in a united, cheerful environment, with friendly colleagues and understanding leaders, is already very happy and lucky."

Ms. Hien's job involves exposure to many toxic chemicals and potentially infectious waste. Photo: DT

Commenting on her, Head of Infection Control Department - Ms. Dang Thi Thu Hien said: "Hien is a thoughtful, exemplary employee, doing everything with a spirit of dedication, selflessness, ready to help, never demanding benefits for herself or being jealous of others."

Introducing to me the lush green vegetable beds that Ms. Hien took advantage of her free time to grow on the hospital's vacant land, the head of the department shared: "The most valuable thing about Hien is her self-reliance in her work and her unwillingness to let others prioritize or take care of her situation. Although she does not have as much support from her husband as other women, Hien always takes on equal or more work than others, always volunteers to take on difficult tasks, and is ready to support her colleagues."

With a spirit of volunteerism and dedication, Ms. Hien was one of the first people to register to join the fight against the epidemic at Field Hospital No. 5 during the peak days. In the registration list, Ms. Hien was the case that hospital leaders considered the most. Everyone wanted her to go because she was quick and knowledgeable, but they were also afraid that if she went, her family life would be disrupted.

However, as soon as he heard his wife share, Mr. Hao encouraged her: "This is the time when everyone needs me, you can rest assured to go fight the epidemic, at home, my child and I can take care of ourselves."

Having gone through many ups and downs, Mr. Hao and Ms. Hien always wanted to contribute more to life. Photo: DT

So her two children divided the work, replacing their mother with housework and acting as their father's hands and eyes. Her father and mother-in-law, who were in the hospital, also supported and asked to return home to support their children and grandchildren. Ms. Hien set off with the desire to contribute to the fight against the epidemic.

Working to fight the epidemic right at the time of the most severe weather of the year, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien still remembers the feeling of stuffiness and heat when working in medical protective clothing. "Our team has 4 people, divided into 3 shifts, each shift is 4 hours, taking turns to do the task.garbage collection, cleaning the surface environment, doing laundry... for the 7-storey treatment area. The constant image of the members is 2 hands holding 2 large garbage bags, inside the protective gear are clothes soaked with sweat. Sweat makes the skin wrinkled, red, sweat accumulates into salty puddles inside the mask, overflowing into the mouth every time we talk or breathe", Ms. Hien recalls.

Not only that, because they always have to shower after consecutive shifts, many times they go to bed with wet hair or take shifts when their hair is not yet dry. This leads to hair loss and headaches that most people suffer from. Despite the hardship, Ms. Hien not only completes her duties but is also willing to support others. She explains: “Because I used to work in agriculture, I am used to heavy work, do not feel too tired and recover very quickly. So I can take advantage of helping people bring meals or take shifts when necessary.”

After returning from the days of strengthening the fight against the epidemic, Ms. Hien continued her work and role. Both she and Mr. Hao said that the 2 months she was away from home were a memorable turning point for the family, an opportunity for the members to be more confident, for the children to be more mature, and to appreciate this life more.

Sitting and “listening” to his wife busily picking vegetables, cooking and preparing dinner, Mr. Hao tilted his head and confided: “The happiest thing is that after going through the storm, our family is still together and has paid off most of the debt. Now, in addition to wishing for peace for my wife and children, I also hope that one day I will be able to donate blood and have a smart cane to guide me so my wife will worry less.” Mr. Hao’s simple wish is also Ms. Hien’s wish. Hopefully, those simple wishes will soon come true.

On March 8, the Nghe An Provincial Federation of Labor commended, honored, and awarded exemplary female soldiers in white shirts in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, including Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien. Photo: Thanh Chung

With her contributions to the fight against Covid-19, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien was recently awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Department of Health and is one of the...77 female medical staffCommended by the Provincial Federation of Labor on the occasion of March 8.