The moonlight of the bald children
At seven o'clock in the evening, Mrs. Sen dressed her granddaughter in a new dress and carried her to the wheelchair so they could arrive in time for the Mid-Autumn Festival celebration at K Hospital in Tan Trieu.
In a small 8-square-meter room, barely big enough for a bed and a wardrobe, little Le Thi Thuy Linh is lying down drawing. The 5-year-old girl has bone cancer, discovered more than two months ago. This is her first Mid-Autumn Festival, and she's celebrating it with a large tumor in her right leg and debilitating fevers.
After two months in the hospital, Linh's face has become noticeably thinner, and her weight has dropped from 17 kg to just 11 kg. She can no longer walk, so a wheelchair is her constant companion. Her grandmother, Mrs. Sen, who is over 70, said that Linh's father left when she was young, and her mother has suffered from depression ever since. Mrs. Sen has been raising Linh and her older brother, who is in fifth grade this year, alone, and their finances have been steadily depleted. The family lives in Nghe An, but Mrs. Sen currently has to rent accommodation in Hanoi so Linh can receive outpatient treatment.
"All my energy and resources are devoted to Linh, I just hope she can get well again," she said.
Linh's cancer has metastasized, so the prognosis is very poor. The tumor is growing larger every day. "For many nights in a row, she couldn't sleep. Now, I just hope to be grateful for each day I have," Mrs. Sen said.
Nguyen Thi Hanh, 34, from Ha Nam province, also has a young child with bone cancer. She is busy feeding her little daughter dinner so they can be ready for the Mid-Autumn Festival. "Although I don't have the mood to think about the Mid-Autumn Festival, seeing my child so excited, I indulge her," Hanh said.
Six-year-old Truong Khanh Linh was diagnosed with the disease in early June. Initially, Linh complained of aching and sore legs, which her family thought was normal for her age or due to excessive running and jumping. The pain worsened, prompting a medical examination. The results from Hanoi Medical University and Bach Mai Hospital were consistent; doctors concluded Linh had a malignant tumor in her bone. Currently, Linh is unable to walk in her right leg, and she is completely dependent on her mother for all daily activities.
"The day I found out my daughter had cancer, I completely broke down, and the family was thrown into turmoil," said Mr. Cuong, Khanh Linh's father. He works freelance, while Ms. Hanh is a factory worker earning a meager salary.
The little girl fell ill just as she was preparing for the new school year. Lying in her hospital bed, Linh whispered in her mother's ear, "I'll tell Hang that I wish I could attend the opening ceremony, go to school, and that Mom and Dad wouldn't have to work so hard for me anymore."
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Khanh Linh and her mother attended the Mid-Autumn Festival celebration at K Hospital and were presented with a wheelchair. Photo:Thuy An. |
The Mid-Autumn Festival celebration organized by K3 Hospital in Tan Trieu on the night of September 10th attracted over 1,000 child patients and their relatives. The children enthusiastically drew pictures, watched cultural performances, carried lanterns, and enjoyed the festive treats with the characters of Cuoi and Hang. For seriously ill children unable to go down to the hospital grounds, doctors and nurses delivered gifts to their beds. Mr. Nguyen Duc Ha, president of the volunteer club participating in the program, shared: "Children with cancer suffer many disadvantages and therefore need special attention and care."
Children and their families gathered together. Quang, 38, the father of a young patient, said this was the second year his child had celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival in the hospital. "Seeing my child laughing and playing with friends eases some of my heartache," he said.
Many children who had just undergone amputation and were receiving IV fluids, with needles still attached to their arms, were engrossed in watching and laughing heartily at the performances on stage. Little Truong Khanh Linh received a wheelchair from a charity club, making it easier for her to move around.
"I thought I wouldn't be able to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival this year because I couldn't move around," Linh said, sitting in her wheelchair. "The Mid-Autumn Festival makes me forget about my cancer and the smell of medicine."