Quoc Tuan: 'I am your father, mother and teacher'

The actor of "The General's Horn Blower" is determined to help his son with a serious illness have a normal life.

These days, actor Quoc Tuan rushes to Vietnam Feature Film Studio in Thuy Khue to resolve the agency's equitization issue, then takes the opportunity to return home to Tran Phu, Ha Dong, Hanoi to take care of his son - baby Bom.

Quoc Tuan said his son had just undergone major surgery performed by American doctors in Vietnam, related toApert disease - localized premature bone loss - that Bom has had since birth. After 15 years of persistent treatment, Quoc Tuan shared that his illness is almost cured. CThe boy will wait another two years for plastic surgery.

Father and son live together in a neatly arranged apartment. The large speaker system displays many classical music CDs.Quoc Tuan said his son has a talent for music. He just passed the entrance exam.Piano Department ofVietnam National Academy of Music.The piano in the middle of the house is where father and son often practice together.Every day, the child plays the piano from six to eight hours.

Actor Quoc Tuan (right) talks with his son.

When guests came to the house, Bom sat down to play the piano. Quoc Tuan sat next to him and reminded him to concentrate. When he showed signs of being distracted, he asked him to stand up, walk around, and listen to music to relax. When his father scolded him, Bom mumbled an apology. He could not speak clearly because of his habit of difficult pronunciation. Seeing his son's sincere attitude, Quoc Tuan affectionately rubbed his hands and the surgical scar on the back of his head.

Bom is in 9th grade this year, at the age of "rebellious puberty". Quoc Tuan confided that the "general" no longer talks to his father about school as much as before. Through the teacher, Quoc Tuan learned that his son is starting to like a girl.

Bom is humorous, outgoing and somewhat innocent. At home, he calls his father "anh". When scolded by his father, Bom humorously soothes him: "Anh has been scolding me a lot lately!" or "Anh leaves me alone". However, when he doesn't see his father, he frantically searches for him.

Quoc Tuan said that at night he sleeps with his son. The boy sweats a lot, so every night he has to wake up to wipe his body and change Bom's clothes four times. "If I'm too tired and accidentally fall asleep, when I wake up, my son's clothes are soaked in sweat, which can easily lead to a cold or flu," the actor said. He also cuts his son's hair, toenails, fingernails, and prepares food for him himself. Bom eats a special diet to have the strength to withstand the surgeries. In addition, the boy can only swallow food because his jaw is difficult to move, so he always has to cut his son's food into small pieces.

To give Bom such a normal life, Quoc Tuan tearfully said he had to go through a lot of pressure.He admitted that there were times when he had to brace himself. "I am a father to protect, a mother to take care of, a teacher to tutor and teach the child." Since Bom was little, many people advised him to send the child to a special school. He affirmed that there was nothing unusual about the child, and that his appearance would gradually improve. He also did not hide the child at home but often let the child go out to avoid self-consciousness and autism.

When Bom was in first grade, many parents suspected that his mind was not normal. Under pressure from the students' families, the teachers forced him to take Bom to a neurologist to prove it. The incident left him with severe trauma for many years. "To this day, I still keep Bom's health check-up paper as a reminder to myself. Father and son have overcome so many terrible things that nothing can stop us from continuing to live happily," Quoc Tuan mused.

When going out, many people wondered about Bom's face and scars, pointing at him. The actor said that if he were an adult, he would find a way to remind them that their actions could hurt the child, and they would feel embarrassed. If he were a child, Quoc Tuan would say gently: "I just had surgery and haven't healed yet. After the surgery, I will be very handsome. Do you understand?"

Since his child was born, Quoc Tuan stopped acting to stay with him. His small salary at Vietnam Feature Film Studio was not enough to cover the cost of his child's medical treatment, so he took on many other jobs such as writing film scripts, skits, TV commercials, directing short films... Each time he paid for Bom's major surgery at an international hospital, he spent tens of thousands of USD. However, for Quoc Tuan, this amount of money was nothing if Bom was healthy again.

Quoc Tuan admitted that the presence of the boy completely changed his personality. "I was originally a stubborn person. When I was a child, when I was bullied and beaten by my friends, no matter how much pain I felt, I did not cry. Later, after experiencing many tragedies, I thought I had become callous. However, since Bom was born, everything went in the opposite direction. I was easily moved and cried easily when witnessing many other pitiful situations. Many times, I secretly cried but felt shy, so I quickly pretended to stroke my hair to hide it"./.

According to VNE