Meet special candidates at Vinh exam cluster

(Baonghean.vn) - Having suffered from hair loss for 7 years now, Tran Thi Nhi (18 years old, from Cam Thach, Cam Xuyen, Ha Tinh) has overcome her inferiority complex to integrate into the community, studying tirelessly to become a special candidate of Vinh exam cluster in the 2014 university entrance exam with the dream of becoming a veterinarian.

Tran Thi Nhi and her child were taken to a cheap motel by volunteers.

Suffering from hair loss, a soft hat is always an inseparable item for me.

Taking the inter-provincial bus from dawn, carrying a lot of luggage along with dozens of other students, Tran Thi Nhi and her mother seemed confused by the noisy, bustling space in front of Vinh University's gate. It was not the first time she had come to Vinh City, but for Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa (Nhi's mother), the difficult but somewhat peaceful life in the countryside of Cam Xuyen (Ha Tinh) was very different from this city, especially when today, the task of taking her daughter to the university entrance exam seemed to be weighing heavily on her shoulders. Fortunately, the volunteer team of Vinh University quickly helped, taking the mother and daughter to a cheap motel near Hung Dung Secondary School - Tran Thi Nhi's exam site.

Tran Thi Nhi took the opportunity to review knowledge to prepare for the university entrance exam.

Still not completely exhausted after the long journey, Ms. Hoa is still talkative and friendly like many other women in the countryside. In a rented room of only about 15 square meters with the simplest of furniture, the "assets" that the mother and daughter brought with them for this year's university entrance exam were only a small, old handbag. In it, Nhi's exam preparation books were mainly included, the rest were a few sets of clothes and personal belongings. "The family only relies on the fields, and after Nhi, there is also her younger brother, it's very hard! I'm going now, but my heart is in turmoil, I'm worried about whether my child can do the test or not, I'm worried about his health, and at home there is the youngest child, whose eyesight is not as good as his friends'..."

Sitting next to her mother, Nhi softly continued: “I love you so much! I have chronic hair loss, I have sought treatment everywhere but still have not found the cause of the disease. There is no other way...” Having said that, the little girl with a chubby face and big round eyes confided about her special condition with sadness that was hard to hide. Born and raised healthy and pretty, then, when Nhi was 11 years old, fate teased Nhi and forced her to suffer from hair loss. At first, she lost a little hair, then gradually until she went bald.

Sitting next to Nhi, listening to her talk about the pain and guilt of those not-so-distant days, I couldn't help but feel choked up imagining what the 18-year-old girl had to go through. It was impossible to count how many trips Nhi's parents had to take to the South and the North, to knock on the doors of many large and small hospitals, even "garden" doctors, as long as there was a glimmer of hope for their child's condition. For 7 long years, no one had been able to tell Nhi and her parents exactly the cause of her hair loss. All I knew was that there was a truth that still existed every day, every hour, that Nhi was growing up with all the beautiful features of a young woman, with a sensitivity and delicacy that made her heart ache when she knew that someone was "talking about her...", while her full moon hair that should have been jet black at 18 had completely disappeared from her head!

The pain that came to Nhi's family was so great that while Nhi had not yet found the cause of the disease, her younger brother Tran Van Quang's eyes (15 years old) gradually dimmed. The family sold everything they could to treat their son's illness. The small house in the countryside of Cam Thach (Cam Xuyen, Ha Tinh) seemed to become more and more deserted day by day! Only when night fell, the warmth from the desk lamp in Nhi's study corner spread, making the house more lively thanks to the light of learning and determination. Nhi studied hard and dreamed of becoming a veterinarian - a field of study that was still somewhat unfamiliar to most of her friends in her hometown. But Nhi was still steadfast in her choice: "I love animals. Besides, in the countryside, people live on fields, gardens, and livestock, I want to study veterinary medicine well to return to help my family, my village, and my fellow countrymen."

However, willpower is one thing, the immediate difficulty that mother and child must face is money for this trip. “To take my child to the exam, the family had to borrow money from neighbors. In addition to money for travel, food and accommodation, we also have to pay for medicine for my child. In the next few days, we may have to arrange to sell rice to pay them back. In the countryside, everyone is having a hard time, except for me!” - Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa shared with tears in her eyes. As for Nhi, she is trying to put her worries aside, taking advantage of the remaining time to memorize math formulas, ready for the exam tomorrow./.

Phuong Chi - Nguyen Khoa