The difficult situation of a woman raising a naive daughter and a sick grandchild

Every mother wants her child to be healthy and whole, but life sometimes doesn't go as planned.

Ms. Le Thi Hong in Chong hamlet, Nghia Yen commune (Nghia Dan) fell into that difficult situation: Her only daughter, Ms. Le Thi Tuoi, had an unusual personality. Ms. Tuoi was born in 1982. In 2010, after days of wandering, Ms. Tuoi returned pregnant and gave birth to a son named Le Chi Nguyen. Ms. Hong hoped that Chi Nguyen would grow up to be a support for her and her mother.

The house where the three grandmothers, mother and children are living. Photo: Duc Anh

But life is full of twists and turns. When the child was 3 years old, his limbs suddenly atrophied, making it difficult for him to walk. From then on, the life of the three of them, mother and child, became increasingly difficult. Every day, Mrs. Hong had to carry her grandchild to school early and then go to work for hire. She did whatever was hired, from hoeing grass, cutting medicinal herbs, planting and harvesting...

Mrs. Hong said in tears: One day, when she came home from work, she saw Nguyen covered in blood, having fallen because he was unsteady on his feet. She carried him to the medical station to get stitches. His mother was mentally unstable and could not help him. One day, when she came home, she saw her son crying loudly. She ran in and saw Ms. Tuoi beating her son mercilessly. When she asked, she found out that Nguyen had come to hug his mother, but his mother used a stick to beat him.

There was nothing valuable in the small house that the Women's Union had donated to build in 2005. The wooden chair for the grandmother and her grandchild to sit and eat had been destroyed by her daughter's tantrum, and the pot lid was also dented and reshaped by her grandmother. A meal consisted of only a bowl of bamboo shoot soup with salt.

A simple meal of a grandmother and grandchild (when Ms. Le Thi Tuoi saw a stranger coming, she ran away and did not return until after dinner). Photo: Duc Anh

Mrs. Hong's greatest wish is that Nguyen will be cured and healthy like other children, so that when she dies, she can rest in peace. She has taken him to the hospital twice before, and now she wants to take him to the hospital again, but she can hardly afford daily meals, let alone hospital fees.

Le Chi Nguyen is in 3rd grade this year. Summer is here, while his friends are playing all kinds of games, Nguyen can only sit in one place and watch them play. Nguyen said: I just want to be healthy like my friends so I can go to school by myself and help my grandmother with many things.

Mr. Le Thang Canh - Chairman of the Fatherland Front Committee of Nghia Yen commune said: Mrs. Le Thi Hong's family is a particularly difficult family in Nghia Yen commune. The Party Committee, the government, the departments and organizations as well as the people here often help, care and encourage but not much. We hope that benefactors near and far will open their arms of kindness to support her family.

Seeing his friends running and playing, Chi Nguyen couldn't help but feel sad. Photo: Duc Anh

The new school year is approaching, Mrs. Hong is worried again, not only does she provide books and pens for her grandchild but every day she carries her grandchild to school and picks him up. “I wish he could walk like other children so I can work with peace of mind to earn a meal of vegetables and porridge to feed each other…” Mrs. Hong sadly said./.

Please send all donations to Ms. Le Thi Hong in Chong hamlet, Nghia Yen commune (Nghia Dan, Nghe An).

Dinh Thuy - Duc Anh