Nearly 80-year-old woman raises mentally ill child and cerebral palsy grandson

(Baonghean.vn) - 78 years old, old and weak, family is too poor butMs. Dang Thi ChinhliveDien Loi commune (Dien Chau, Nghe An)have to raise both mentally ill son and cerebral palsy grandson.

The first scene we witnessed when visiting Mrs. Chinh's house was the scene of her eldest grandson screaming naked, crawling around a crumpled mat spread out in the middle of the yard. Mrs. Chinh sadly said: I'm old, why does God still punish me with such suffering? My husband died early, the family has 5 children but not many of them are smart, both foolish and poor, so they dropped out of school one by one, clinging to the rice fields to have food and clothes... when they grew up a little bit, some went to the South, some went to the North to work for hire, then started a family far away.

Then she used her thin, bony hand to wipe away the tears on her dark circles, and cried sadly: at this age, she had not lived a single day in peace, had not had a full night's sleep. Sometimes, while sleeping soundly, she would hear a scream that would make her limbs weak, her heart would pound, and she would wake up to see her grandchild rolling around on the ground, crying and laughing wildly, both afraid and pitying her grandchild. She would also think of her poor son who was alone in a house outside the neighborhood, not knowing if he would run out to pick up trash on the street in the middle of the night...

Mrs. Chinh painfully wiped away tears of grief for her sick children and grandchildren. Photo: Ha Linh

The poor child that Mrs. Chinh mentioned was her eldest son - Tran Huu Thong, born in 1974. The year he reached military age, he volunteered to join the army and was stationed in an area affected by Agent Orange. Thong, like some of his comrades at the time, got married and had children without knowing that misfortune was coming to his family.

In 1997, the first son, Tran Huu Hung, was born. The couple was happy to see their son with a beautiful and handsome appearance, but the joy was short-lived when each passing day, Hung showed signs of abnormality and was constantly sick. At 6 months old, the hospital concluded that he had cerebral palsy due to the effects of Agent Orange from his father. The family took him to many places hoping for treatment, but they only gave him instructions, advice and medicine to prevent him from getting worse complications, but with such difficult family circumstances, it was impossible to completely cure him.

Since discovering his son’s illness, Mr. Thong’s temperament also became erratic, and he was in turn hospitalized for mental treatment. His wife struggled to take care of her husband and child for two years, but could not bear the constant running from one hospital to another to take care of her husband and then another to take care of her child, so she abandoned her mother-in-law, went to the South to work, and started another family.

Mr. Thong stood dumbfounded in front of the old house filled with bags of trash that he picked up and brought home every day. Photo: Ha Linh.

In 2003, Mr. Thong fell in love with a girl from a neighboring commune and they lived together, giving birth to a baby girl named Tran Thi Hoai Thuong. However, after his wife gave birth, Mr. Thong's illness continued to worsen. When his daughter had just finished first grade, his second wife had to take her to the South to work for hire to raise her.

Whenever Thong had a fit, he would chase and beat his mother. Because she had to take care of her grandson, Tran Huu Hung, Chinh had to take shelter in the old shack her grandparents had left behind. After the shack collapsed, she received 40 million VND from a charity program. The house was repaired and has been a shelter for the grandmother and her grandchildren since 2010.

Normally, Mr. Thong is gentle, does not curse or beat anyone, and every day he picks up trash, puts it in bags and leaves them in every corner of the house like property. However, when he has an attack, he cannot recognize his mother and glares at her threateningly, scaring her into running away.

In 2014, Thuong was brought to Mrs. Chinh's house by her mother so that she could go to primary school in the commune and help her bring food to her father every day. When the food was brought over, Thuong did not dare to go near it because she was afraid. Many days the food was left for ants to crawl on, sometimes the chickens ate it, and Mr. Thong went hungry. Because she had to follow her mother to work here and there, even though she was 14 years old, Thuong only studied up to grade 3.

Thuong was brought home by her mother to go to school and help her grandmother bring food to her father. Although she is 13 years old, she is only in 3rd grade because she has to follow her mother to work everywhere. Photo: Ha Linh

Currently, Mrs. Chinh's children are all in different places, and she has to take care of Mr. Thong and Hung alone. She has to work in the fields and take care of her sick children and grandchildren. Every month, Mrs. Chinh receives a allowance to take care of her two sick children and grandchildren, along with money from Mr. Thong and his father. She only dares to buy rice, and her main food is cheap, stale food, and vegetables and pickles are asked from villagers to survive.

Thuong's mother occasionally sends home some money, asking her to buy food for Thong and his father. Every time she calls, she encourages her to try hard so she can earn a little more money. Later, when Thong is no longer strong enough to walk or destroy things, she will return to the countryside to take care of the two of them.

Mr. Hoang Xuan Hong - Secretary of the Dien Loi Commune Party Committee said that the commune could not provide much support, only caring about holidays and Tet. He also hoped that Ms. Chinh's family would receive many kind hearts and help so that she could have more funds to buy medicine and treat her children and grandchildren, because if she passed away, who knows what would happen to Thong and his children? Ms. Thong's family is in dire need of help and sharing from kind-hearted people.

Ha Linh