The determination and passion of a girl with brittle bone disease

(Baonghean.vn) - Suffering from brittle bone disease, Phan Thi Thao in Hamlet 2, Bao Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District, at the age of 23, is only 70 cm tall and weighs 14 kg. She has to rely on relatives for all her daily activities. However, her determination and passion for embroidery and paper cards have helped the disabled girl to be more confident in life and gain the respect of everyone.

Every day, Phan Thi Thao still diligently creates and makes beautiful embroidered paintings and embossed paper cards.

Visiting Thao in the cold winter days, the winding red dirt road took us to the house located on the hillside in Hamlet 2, Bao Thanh Commune. On the threshold of the level 4 house, stained with time, there was a bed with a small chair and a light bulb. A 23-year-old girl with the figure of a 3-year-old child sat among the tools and materials, engrossed in knitting, folding, and adjusting the paper with her weak, disabled hands.

Next to the recycled cardboard boxes are lovely greeting cards with a variety of designs, patterns, and motifs, all of which are eye-catching and delicately colored. If you have never seen Thao make them, few would suspect that they are the self-taught, self-discovered, and creative products of a girl with congenital brittle bone disease. While talking to us, Thao’s hands were still diligently and meticulously rolling the paper fibers to create bright red petals on the paper cards.

Thao tearfully said: "I was unlucky, born with a disability, all activities had to depend on my mother, my father, looking at my peers running around, going to school, I really wanted to. One time watching TV, I saw a friend making embossed paper cards, so I told my mother to buy the materials, then learned to do it myself, when I first started, I also damaged a lot, but my mother encouraged me, saved up money to buy me a phone with internet connection, so I went online to watch, watch again and again and learn, and then I was able to do it. Since then, my life has been less boring and I want to do this to help my parents in life with the money from selling cards so that my parents can feel more secure about me."

Having just had gallbladder surgery, the wound has not yet healed but Mrs. Sam still asked the doctor to come home to help her child.

Phan Thi Thao is the youngest child in a family of 3 siblings. When she was 3 months old, seeing that she was slow to grow and had little movement, Thao's parents took her to the doctor and the doctor concluded that she had brittle bone disease. After a series of days in many hospitals, but her condition did not improve, the family took Thao home to take care of her, accepting her fate.

Every day, seeing her daughter struggling in daily life, seeing her friends of the same age carrying their books to school, Mrs. Tran Thi Sam's heart ached. She tried to teach her daughter to read each letter, took care of her, and raised her to give her disabled daughter more strength and confidence. With the meager salary of a kindergarten teacher in the village school, she did not spend a single penny on herself but spent it all on medicine and pampering her daughter with the things she loved, hoping that a miracle would happen to her daughter and her family.

She herself was sick today, in pain tomorrow because of the stomach ulcer, now she had to undergo gallbladder surgery, the wound has not healed yet but she still hurriedly asked the doctor to go home to take care of her child. Although it was so hard, Mrs. Sam felt happier because she was given the strength to help her child work and enjoy life.

The embossed paper cards are made by Thao herself.

On an old bamboo bed, Phan Thi Thao still diligently cuts, pastes, embroiders and paints according to her creativity. On average, Thao can only complete one card a day, selling it for only 15-20 thousand VND depending on the design, but it is a great effort and the result of her labor, so Thao is very happy. Sympathizing with and sharing Thao's situation and admiring Thao's determination, neighbors often come to visit, encourage and support Thao by buying pretty cards as gifts for relatives.

Mr. Phan Van Dong - Head of Hamlet 2, Bao Thanh Commune, said: The family of Mrs. Sam and Thao is very pitiful. Mrs. Sam is a teacher, but in recent years she has been sick often and has poor health. Thao was born with a disease, but she has an extraordinary will. She has made very beautiful products. Neighbors also contributed to sharing the products she made, creating more motivation for Mrs. Sam and her children to strive to improve in life. All family expenses depend on her husband, whoever hires her to do that and a few fields of contracted rice, so it is very difficult. Therefore, the hamlet held a meeting to consider allowing Mrs. Sam's family to enjoy the State's poor household support policy in 2018, to have more conditions to treat Thao.

Sympathizing with Thao's situation and admiring her determination, neighbors often come to encourage and support her by ordering Thao to make new products to hang in the house or as gifts for relatives.

These days, Thao is devoting all her time to creating meaningful products for Christmas, New Year greeting cards and completing decorative embroidery paintings for families. Just like that, the small joys have kindled in the disabled girl more faith in life and knowing how to dream about simple things.

Thao dreams of her mother recovering from her illness and regaining her health. She also hopes that everyone will know and support her more so that she can have more conditions to help her mother with her illness and have capital to open a small shop, and then be able to help people in the same situation as her.

To help Thao realize that simple dream, we need the cooperation, sharing and help of the community. For any support and help, please contact Ms. Tran Thi Sam - Hamlet 2, Bao Thanh Commune - Yen Thanh - Nghe An. Tel: 01659573510.

Anh Tuan - Phan Hien