The difficult family situation of a child in Quynh Luu with a serious heart disease

These days, Le Thi Hoa and her husband take turns staying by the side of their son, Van Duc Vinh, who is suffering from a serious illness and is being treated at the Intensive Care and Anti-Poison Department, Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital. Sitting outside the hospital room corridor waiting for the time to visit her son, Hoa said that Vinh has been hospitalized for nearly a month now and has to rely entirely on the care of doctors and nurses. Each day, the family is only allowed to visit him in the intensive care room for a short while.

Vinh looked thin and pale, clearly suffering from a serious illness. Although he was 6 years old, his body was slow to develop and malnourished. Vinh weighed only 14kg and could not walk steadily. Every time he cried, his whole body turned purple and he fainted.

It was even more pitiful to hear Ms. Hoa talk about her extremely difficult family situation. In 2002, she and her husband happily welcomed their first son, Van Duc Th. After 6 months, Th. showed unusual symptoms such as diarrhea and pneumonia. His body gradually weakened and he passed away after only 4 days of treatment at the hospital. In 2009, Ms. Hoa and her husband were shocked again when their daughter, Van Thi H. (just 5 months old), passed away with the same symptoms as her ill-fated brother. Then in 2011, their daughter, Van Thi Ph., was born 3 months later and also showed similar signs. About 2 years later, she continued to give birth to baby Van Duc M. and once again helplessly watched her child leave this life at 4 months old because she shared the same fate as her 3 previous brothers and sisters.

“In 9 years, I lost 4 beloved children. Thinking about the moment of leaving each child I gave birth to, my heart aches, I always pray that if they are born in the next life, they will be healthy and safe,” Ms. Hoa choked up.

In 2017, when she learned that she was pregnant again, Ms. Hoa was both happy and worried. She went for regular check-ups every month and was temporarily reassured that the fetus was developing normally. By the fifth month, all hope was dashed when the doctor concluded that the fetus had a heart problem. Despite the pain and worry, the couple still tried to encourage each other to support their child in the future and hoped for a miracle.

When Van Duc Vinh was born, his body was purple and he was transferred to a hospital in Hanoi for emergency treatment. The doctor concluded that Vinh had lysosomal storage disease (also known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy). This is a rare and dangerous disease. If not treated promptly or the treatment regimen is incorrect, complications will occur and his life will be threatened at any time. To maintain his life, twice a month, Hoa and her husband take him to Hanoi for treatment. Recently, due to financial hardship, her family had to let their son receive treatment at a provincial hospital. The couple took turns being on duty and worked all their spare time to earn money for their son's medicine.

"Vinh is the hope of the family, so no matter how difficult it is, my husband and I will try our best. Recently, complications from the disease have made Vinh's health very weak, so my husband and I take turns staying by his side. Every time I come to him, I can't help but hold his thin, weak hands to encourage and give Vinh more strength to try to treat him," Ms. Hoa confided.

After 6 years of taking her child to many places for treatment, Ms. Hoa's family's economy is now exhausted, when all valuable assets in the house were sold, along with nearly 300 million VND borrowed from everywhere. Now Vinh's life is fragile, debt is piling up, Ms. Hoa and her husband are helpless when they can no longer borrow money to continue treating their child.

Mrs. Nguyen Thi To (Vinh's grandmother) sadly shared: "I love Vinh and his parents. For the past 6 years, since Vinh was born, his parents have been staying at home, doing whatever they can to have time to take care of their child. My husband and I work hard all day, and whatever money we have left over is used to buy medicine and take our child to the hospital. I am old and cannot do anything for my husband and I, so when Vinh is at home, I take care of him and help him so that my husband and I can go to work with peace of mind. For nearly a month now, Vinh has been in the hospital. I stay at home and always wait for news and pray for him to get well soon."

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tam - Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Tan Commune (Quynh Luu) said: Ms. Le Thi Hoa's family is a particularly poor household in the locality, with extremely difficult circumstances. The locality has always paid attention, shared, and visited in a timely manner to help the family overcome difficulties. During holidays and Tet, the commune always prioritizes gifts to encourage the family. Ms. Hoa's family is in dire need of the cooperation and help of philanthropists and donors to have funds to treat her son to overcome his illness.

All support and help please send to:

Ms. Le Thi Hoa

Address: Village 14, Quynh Tan Commune, Quynh Luu District, Nghe An Province

Phone: 0337.682.257 - Ms. Hoa

Account number of Ms. Le Thi Hoa (Vinh's mother): 51510000561086, BIDV Bank.

Thu Huong