Love holds life together

(Baonghean) - I don't know how many times, thinking that living like this is worse than death, and becoming a burden to so many people, Hoa decided to give up.

However, it was the love and warm embrace of her loved ones that kept Hoa. Hoa got up again with a miraculous strength...

In 2012, the village girl Nguyen Thi Hoa (born in 1994 from Nhan Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district) got married to a man from Phu Thanh commune who was 2 years older than her. Both families were poor farmers, working hard in the fields, so Hoa also had to work hard at an early age. After getting married, the daughter-in-law was known for her hard work and diligence, so the family was always warm and happy...

Hoa and her husband also dreamed of a small house with the chirping of children, they also discussed how to start an economy from a garden, a fish pond, and raising buffalo, cows, chickens and ducks. However...

Ms. Luu Thi Huong - mother-in-law of Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa takes care of her daughter-in-law. Photo: Ba Hau

In 2013, almost a year after the wedding. That day, the family held the wedding of Hoa's husband's brother. After a day of preparing the feast, Hoa went to her private room to rest first. At around 8 pm, Hoa's husband returned and was shocked to see his wife lying unconscious in front of the bed. The whole family was shocked and immediately took Hoa to the district hospital.

Diagnosed with pneumonia and anemia, Hoa was discharged after 5 days of treatment. However, the more medicine she took, the more tired she felt. Her family decided to take her to the provincial hospital. At Nghe An General Hospital, Hoa received the conclusion from the doctors: end-stage renal failure.

Without health insurance, pursuing dialysis is an unbearable burden for a family. So both sides of Hoa's family shouldered the burden. They had to sell buffaloes, cows, chickens, pigs, rice, and even the sweaty construction money of her husband... Hoa cried many nights. Thinking about the newly-born dream of the couple, she thought about the sweat, the thrift of her parents, siblings... she felt so useless, and then hoped for a release...

Many times, she said to her husband: “Honey, why don’t I go to the province for dialysis anymore. Let fate decide what will happen to me. As a daughter-in-law, I haven’t had time to repay my parents, but I’ve put a burden on them. And then there’s your future. Now I can’t give birth to your child, I can’t even fulfill my role as a wife…”

Hearing Hoa say that, Mr. Phong - Hoa's husband hugged his wife tightly and said: We share poverty and suffering. You can rest assured and get treatment, I will endure a little more hardship! Then we will start over when you are healthy again...

Hoa's mother-in-law, Mrs. Luu Thi Huong, also always encouraged her daughter-in-law: "Your parents and siblings will not allow you to give up. As long as you live, you must continue to receive treatment, even if you have to sell your house and land in a thatched hut." Hoa's parents-in-law have 4 children, including 3 boys and 1 girl, all of whom are workers and farmers, so none of them are rich. However, their love for Hoa is extremely rich.

Hoa also received so much love and sharing from neighbors, neighbors, and local authorities. Everyone gave a hand, some housekeepers, some money lenders. Just 6 months after that fateful night, the amount of money the family borrowed to treat Hoa had reached 200 million VND. Village and commune officials also came to encourage and help her family get the necessary support.

The dilapidated house of Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa's family in Phu Thanh commune (Yen Thanh). Photo: Ba Hau

Hoa’s husband saved every penny to work as a mechanic. He accepted any job he was called to do to earn a few million each month for his wife to go for regular dialysis in the province. Not only did he work hard, he also took care of her every meal and sleep.

“My biological parents sold all their valuable assets to help me the most out of their four children. In addition to farming, my father also worked as a construction worker, and my mother went to fish for eels to give me more money for treatment. My parents are now also poor because they are worried about their children. Therefore, the heaviest burden is still on my husband’s shoulders. I feel sorry for myself, sometimes I feel less sorry for him” - Hoa confided.

Meeting Nguyen Thi Hoa sitting waiting for her dialysis session in the hallway of Nghe An General Hospital, with her arms covered in lumps and bumps, I saw that Hoa was able to smile on her withered face. She said that in the midst of extreme suffering, she had found the meaning of life. She understood that people can live, can stand firm on this earth, because of love.

She also confided that: Less than a month ago, her husband discussed and decided to go to Taiwan to work to have money for his wife's dialysis and, if possible, to pay off the debt of up to two hundred million VND. Hoa also agreed and encouraged her husband to go. He had been there for less than a month, but he always called to encourage his wife. He said, he would help her return to normal life...

Thuy Vinh - Phan Hau