The Kind Heart of an Unfortunate Woman

While taking care of her paralyzed mother, when she saw Tran Thi Phuc Lien (born in 2006) orphaned at birth, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong (born in 1957) in Hamlet 10, Nghi My Commune (Nghi Loc) took her in. Currently, Lien is 10 years old but cannot walk or sit due to hydrocephalus, so all daily activities depend on Ms. Huong's shoulders...

Ms. Huong takes good care of baby Phuc Lien.

According to the household registration, birth certificate and procedures for Ms. Huong to adopt a child in Dien Chau district, Phuc Lien's hometown is in Team 15, Dien Yen Commune (Dien Chau), mother's name is Le Thi Bay (born in 1962) and father is Tran Chu. Ms. Huong clearly remembers the day she had just had surgery for a jaw tumor and was receiving post-operative treatment at the Department of Dentistry - Maxillofacial Surgery, Nghe An General Hospital. While buying porridge, she happened to see patients discussing about a baby girl who had just been born and lost her mother in the Obstetrics Department.

Out of curiosity, she went to see and saw the newborn baby crying next to her mother's body. Everyone was in a panic and then left. Seeing the pitiful situation of the baby, Ms. Huong contacted the Obstetrics Department of the hospital and said: If no one took the baby home in a few days, she would adopt the baby. A few days later, when the hospital informed her, Ms. Huong decided to take the baby home and named her Tran Thi Phuc Lien with the hope that all happiness and warmth would come to the mother and child.

Later, Ms. Huong heard that after Ms. Bay passed away, her father also had a stroke and passed away. Just after returning from surgery, her old mother was paralyzed and had to be taken care of constantly. Because Phuc Lien was so young, Ms. Huong took her to the Humanitarian Center in Xa Doai to be raised and every 3 days she brought milk, clothes, and supplies down to her. When Phuc Lien was over a month old, she completed the paperwork to bring her home and has been raising her ever since.

From a young age until over 1 year old, she discovered that Lien was not as agile and flexible as other children, her hands were always tightly clenched and could not be released. She took her to the Swedish Children's Hospital for a check-up, the doctor said that her brain was developing slower than normal but there was no disease. When Phuc Lien was 3 years old, her head became bigger and bigger, she had a high fever and had difficulty breathing. She panicked and sent her old mother to a neighbor and rushed her child to Hanoi for a check-up. With the diagnosis of ventricular dilatation, Phuc Lien was scheduled for surgery to place a shunt valve.

Back home, Phuc Lien was still sick and weak, lying in bed unable to turn around, unable to walk or sit up by herself. Gradually, her legs twisted and crossed, she cried in pain day and night, her mother rushed to take her child for surgery but her condition did not improve. The third time, in March, Phuc Lien turned purple and had difficulty breathing, showed signs of panic, tears flowed endlessly, her mother took her child to Hanoi for surgery to replace the wire because the previously placed valve wire no longer had suction and pushing force. The doctor advised to take her back to Nghe An for convenience in treatment.

For the second surgery, the Thang Long Oriental Medicine and Acupuncture Association supported the mother and child with 30 million VND, and a philanthropist supported 10 million VND. Phuc Lien is now 10 years old but weighs over 10 kg, cannot walk, sit or turn around. She herself also has many serious illnesses: asthma, mitral regurgitation, fatty liver.

Ms. Huong's mother (who passed away in 2009) was born in 1933, married a man from the same hometown, gave birth to only her and then suffered from constant illness. When she was 4 years old, her mother became paralyzed, her father divorced her mother. Knowing her situation, Ms. Huong took care of everything early on. She did whatever she could to earn enough money to feed her and her child. Gradually, the mother and child got through the difficult days.

Although 10 years old, Phuc Lien depends on his adoptive mother for all his activities.

When she was 7 years old, the villagers made her a pair of small buckets to carry water for hire. The villagers felt sorry for her and paid her for rice, and sometimes for a little money so that mother and daughter could support each other. She said that since she grew up, she did not know how tall her mother was. The most familiar and attached image to her was a low wooden chair and two pairs of sandals (for her feet and hands) for her mother to walk on.

Although life was hard, she was determined to go to school, both studying and working for hire, from doing laundry, carrying water to catching crabs, catching snails or harvesting, planting rice... she did not mind. After finishing high school, she opened a small restaurant selling rice, porridge, and pho to make a living and support her elderly mother.

When she was young, she was also good-looking, resourceful, and capable, so many people came to ask for her hand in marriage, but her mother refused them all. In 1977, she fell in love with a village boy - who kept coming back and begging "to let him raise his mother with me". The wedding was simple and sweet when their first son was born at the end of 1978. However, after a while, when the son was 2 years old, the heartless and ungrateful husband abandoned her and her child to take care of his own life.

Thinking that her fate was unlucky, at only 27 years old and still in her prime, she decided to stay single to support her mother and son. She was rewarded to some extent when her son grew up and worked in the military.

Mr. Hoang Duc Tri - Chairman of Nghi My Commune People's Committee said: The other day, a representative of Nghe An Children's Hospital came to the commune to confirm Ms. Huong's family situation to support hospital fees and food for the mother and child. I said I could confirm this situation dozens of times. I have never seen a woman as hard-working as Ms. Huong, more than 40 years of raising a paralyzed mother, abandoned by her husband, raising her child alone, now adopting a disabled child...

As for her, despite her difficult and unfortunate circumstances, she has never once complained or complained about money or expenses. Her only dream is to find a good doctor to treat Phuc Lien so that she no longer suffers from pain. As for herself, she has become too used to enduring pain...

Article and photos: Dam Phuong