The Cruel Fate of the Sick Seamstress

Illness has turned Huyen from a pretty, plump girl into an unconscious, bony person. Photo: Phan Hien

More than 20 years ago, the treacherous father abandoned them to find new happiness, the mother and her three children moved from the South to their hometown to live in hamlet 6, Lien Thanh commune (Yen Thanh). Although they worked hard in the fields, tended to and picked vegetables from the home garden to make a living, that life of deprivation still could not stop the laughter in the small house.

Because of her family's poverty, Huyen's older sister had to drop out of school and get married while still in middle school. However, her husband died 5 years ago in a traffic accident, leaving her to raise 2 small children and her elderly, sick parents-in-law alone, making life difficult.

After finishing high school, Huyen learned to be a tailor to be close to her mother, hoping to make up for the hardships her mother had to endure. Thanks to her diligence and willingness to learn, Huyen became a good tailor in her hometown. Thanks to the income from this job, Huyen was able to repair the tiled roof of her old house, save up to buy a motorbike, buy a new sewing machine, and save up a little for herself to get married.

When she was a good seamstress in her hometown, Huyen saved up to renovate her old house. Photo: Phan Hien

However, life was cruel. In 2014, Huyen suddenly suffered from mental illness. Huyen's mother, Thai Thi Duyen (born in 1958), had to take her to Nghe An Mental Hospital for treatment, but her condition did not improve but tended to get worse.

Wiping away her tears, she took her child home to take care of her. Every day, she saw her child being naughty, being cursed and beaten by anyone who came to visit her. The mother's heart ached. Two years later, Huyen had to be rushed to the Provincial General Hospital for emergency treatment and was diagnosed with acute diabetes. In 2017, Huyen had to be hospitalized again for breast abscess surgery and to this day, the incision has not yet healed. The disease has turned Huyen from a pretty, plump girl into an unconscious, skin-and-bones person.

Feeling sorry for her daughter who was getting weaker and weaker, the mother could only look to the sky and pray for her daughter’s condition to improve. To have the money to take her daughter to the doctor’s appointment for a follow-up visit, Ms. Duyen had to sell her motorbike, sewing machine, valuable items in the house and borrow money from relatives and friends… the debt kept increasing while her daughter became more and more emaciated, pushing the poor mother’s family into even more poverty and destitution.

Hopefully, with the kindness and sharing of benefactors, we will contribute to timely encouragement and assistance, helping Huyen and her mother overcome this difficult time.

All support please send to: Mrs. Thai Thi Duyen, Hamlet 6, Lien Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District, Nghe An Province. Phone number: 01685.378.006

Or: Ms. Phan Thi Hien (Huyen's cousin). Phone: 0918.924.889; Account: 3606205054404, Agricultural and Rural Development Bank, Yen Thanh district, Nghe An.