Beautiful Danish student kneels down to care for a child patient at Bach Mai

For more than 20 days, doctors and patients at the Pediatrics Department (Bach Mai Hospital, Hanoi) have become familiar with the image of two beautiful foreign female students, with blond hair, holding colorful puzzles in their hands, coming to take care of patients every day.

Two "fairies" of the child patient

Arriving at Bach Mai Hospital early in the morning of September 22, we had the opportunity to witness the image of two foreign girls kneeling on the floor, bending down to massage the feet of a young patient. The caring, gentle, and tender way of caring like a mother caring for a small child moved everyone who witnessed it.

Jeanne and Adriana are playing and exercising with baby Thon. Photo by Duong Nhung

The two girls are Jeanne H. Nielsen and Adriana Agnieszka Funke, both medical students in Denmark. The two female students registered for an internship at the Pediatrics Department, Bach Mai Hospital, from the beginning of September 2016 to take care of patients there. Jeanner and Adriana are affectionately called “Miss Tay” by the children and parents here.

Jeanne shared: “We chose Vietnam as our internship location because through books and newspapers, we learned that it is a resilient country with many historical values; the people here are really kind. Especially, the children here are very lovely. We wanted to do something to help them.”

Every day, from 8am, after the children have taken their medicine and had breakfast, Jeanne and Adriana will come to play with them, take care of them and check their health.

Speaking to VTC News reporter, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Tien Dung (Head of Pediatrics Department, Bach Mai Hospital) said: “The two Danish girls came to practice here voluntarily. Up to now, these two female students have 4 weeks left to practice here.

In the past, the two female students have helped doctors a lot in treating young patients. Treatment with massage, exercise and playing with the children plays a very important role in the recovery of their health. These two female students are very dedicated and proactive in everything…”

Therapy and learning Vietnamese through… Google

Among the patients in the Pediatrics Department, Vo Khac Thon (14 years old, Lieu Noi village, Khanh Hoa commune, Thuong Tin district, Hanoi) received special attention from the two Danish female students. After 5 years of treatment with a combination of Eastern and Western medicine, in many places such as the Mental Hospital, Agricultural Hospital..., his paralysis still did not improve.

On September 2nd, she was admitted to Bach Mai Hospital. Seeing her old mother carrying her child to the hospital, two female students joined in helping and caring for her since then.

The village was able to walk on its own - a miracle. Photo by Duong Nhung

Twenty days have passed, and every morning, Jeanne and Adriana come to the hospital to check on Thon’s legs. At the beginning of the examination, the two “Western ladies” will help Thon walk up the hospital stairs. In just a short time, from being paralyzed and unable to move, Thon can now limp and walk.

After two rounds of walking, Thon will have his bones massaged and his legs stretched and bent. With little Vietnamese, every step Thon takes, Adriana and Jeanne constantly ask “Does it hurt?”, “Are you tired?”...

Mrs. Nguyen Thi Loan (Thon’s mother) said in tears: “Ton has been paralyzed since the 4th grade. After 5 years of treatment, he still cannot walk and often has seizures. Since entering Bach Mai hospital, with the help and training of two “Western ladies”, he can now go out and go to the bathroom by himself. My family is extremely happy and hopes that he will recover soon…”.

The image of two foreign girls taking good care of patients always attracts a lot of attention. They stand around to watch the way the "Western girl" takes care of patients, expressing their admiration.

A nurse at the hospital shared: “They are very friendly to everyone. They are not afraid of difficulties, hardships or illnesses. We are very impressed by the way they take care of patients by kneeling down and tenderly caressing their feet.”

Two Danish female students had to use their phones to look up languages ​​and exchange information. Photo: Duong Nhung

Thon and the two “Western ladies” regularly communicated with each other by writing on their phones and using the language translation tool on the Google search engine to monitor the patient’s condition. Despite the language barrier, both the patient and the therapist never got discouraged.

Adriana said: “Thon has been practicing very hard, and his illness has shown many positive signs. Hopefully, before the internship ends, we can create a miracle for him.”

Before leaving, I still remember the radiant smile of little Thon with each step – something that for the past 5 years, the terrible polio has taken away from her. Next to her was a happy mother, watching her child walk, tears falling without her knowing. The way the two “Western ladies” used handkerchiefs to wipe away the tears for that mother seemed to make the simple picture, filled with humanity, even brighter.

According to VTC