The 'extended family' of the 'super mom'
It is this burning desire, boundless love, and extraordinary willpower that has transformed Nguyen Lan Anh (born in 1983, an employee of Nghe An University) into a connector, igniting the flame of hope and creating a strong and warm "Super Family" community. They are silent warriors, daily writing the touching story of motherly love and human compassion for children with cerebral palsy.
Author: Diep Thanh - Publication date: February 16, 2026
It is this burning desire, boundless love, and extraordinary willpower that has transformed Nguyen Lan Anh (born in 1983, an employee of Nghe An University) into a connector, igniting the flame of hope and creating a strong and warm "Super Family" community. They are silent warriors, daily writing the touching story of motherly love and human compassion for children with cerebral palsy.
"The Incredibles"
"Please help: 7-year-old Ho Dinh Gia Bao from Truong Vinh ward is suffering from respiratory failure and is currently in the Intensive Care Unit at Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital. Since he was over 6 years old, his mother didn't know to apply for a health insurance card for disabled children, so now she has to pay 100% of the costs. The family is in dire straits; the mother is a single mother raising two children, Gia Bao being the youngest."cerebral palsy"Could someone please help me get a disability health insurance card?" - This is one of the latest posts by Ms. Nguyen Lan Anh on her personal Facebook account, with only 3 days left until the new year.
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In just one day of appealing for donations, Ms. Lan Anh raised 12.6 million VND from benefactors to give to Gia Bao's mother.
It's always the case that in families with children with cerebral palsy, members must be prepared for any worst-case scenario, at any time. And on this special care journey, each member truly is a "superhero."
I learned about the "Superhero Family" group by chance at the "Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration for Children with Cerebral Palsy" program in 2025. The program included over 200 "superhero" families from various wards and communes across the province. The next event was a gift-giving ceremony for these families before the Lunar New Year in 2026.
Time and time again, children arrive in wheelchairs, on the backs of family members, or in their arms... Family members struggle to help each other along. At the back of the hall, one can find babies crying, vomiting, and even sleeping soundly on the chairs…
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Having supported the program for many years, an employee of the Nghe An Guesthouse couldn't hide her emotions, sharing: "Looking at the children's faces, witnessing their pain, and the hardships of their grandparents and parents, everyone feels heartbroken. There's a family with two children suffering from cerebral palsy; every year, the mother and two children travel here with their grandmother from Yen Thanh to participate. The grandmother's hair is gray, her back is hunched, and the mother has a serious illness… Just looking at the four of them in the family, I can't hold back my tears."
It is precisely in those painful, those dire circumstances that unconditional love becomes even more apparent. In these programs, one might encounter a mother holding her child upright, resting the child's head on her shoulder so the little girl can clearly see the stage and sway to the rhythm of the music; a grandfather whispering and affectionately kissing his granddaughter's cheek; a father patiently wiping away his child's drool throughout the entire program with tenderness… With such resilience and love, calling these families "Super Families" is truly fitting.
With a spirit of mutual support and compassion, these programs were organized almost free of charge, with a large number of enthusiastic volunteers participating and many philanthropists present to personally hand out hundreds of gifts…
Having been involved with the "Super Family" since its early days in Nghe An, "super mom" Nguyen Thu Ha (born in 1985, Vinh Hung ward) confided: "Joining the group, we get to meet each other, share our children's medical conditions, encourage each other, and sell goods together to raise funds and call for support for disadvantaged families. The group's offline activities also give parents and children with cerebral palsy the opportunity to interact and connect, contributing to changing people's perceptions of children with cerebral palsy."
A mother's longing
The person who brought the "Super Mom" to Nghe An is Ms. Nguyen Lan Anh - a petite woman with a bright smile and charming dimples. Her journey to becoming a "super mom" began around mid-2014 - when she first heard the doctor's diagnosis about her second son's condition. Devastated and heartbroken, she initially denied the truth and took her son to various doctors.
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Like many mothers with children suffering from cerebral palsy, Lan Anh's journey with her child began with a long series of tears and exhaustion. "Since taking care of my child, there have been nights when I only slept about two hours because he might have difficulty breathing or cry inexplicably when the weather changed. Our family's finances were depleted because everything we earned went towards my child's treatment. During those years of caring for him, I experienced a full range of emotions: disappointment, self-reproach, withdrawal, and then acceptance and overcoming to continue living," Lan Anh confided.
During her long treatment in Hanoi, Lan Anh learned about the Vietnam Association of Families with Children with Cerebral Palsy, participated in activities with others, and in 2019, officially brought the association to Nghe An, building a community to share and support each other. Lan Anh's determination to build a community of families with children with cerebral palsy in Nghe An stems from her desire to share and help those in similar circumstances.
“At the Super Family, everyone loves and admires Lan Anh. Most of the resources for organizing the programs are mobilized and connected by Lan Anh; she is always fair, transparent, and willing to take the short end of the stick. Even though her husband is a soldier working far from home, and she single-handedly takes care of three children, she always takes meticulous care of the group, comes up with many ideas to support and encourage the mothers, and spreads positive energy to everyone,” shared Nguyen Thu Ha.
When asked about her motivation for organizing the association, Ms. Lan Anh said: “Each child with cerebral palsy needs a lot of financial support and at least one family member to be there full-time to care for them. A family with one child with cerebral palsy already struggles, but some families have two or three children with the same condition. Many mothers with children with cerebral palsy have to live a miserable life with their children within four walls, gradually developing low self-esteem, feelings of inferiority, and exhaustion both financially and mentally. It's difficult for them to find a solution.”integration"From my personal experience and with all the resources I have, I hope to be able to support as many families as possible."
"My most pressing desire right now is to help mothers live their own lives, have the opportunity to both earn money and care for their children, and receive support and understanding from the community. Initially, I will seek resources to create a common place where mothers from distant areas can stay for free whenever they bring their children for physiotherapy in the central urban area of Nghe An province," Lan Anh confided.
A new year is approaching, and hopefully, Lan Anh's dream will soon come true.