Heartbreaking story of a good student who suffered an accident that severed his spinal cord at chest level

Due to the difficult life, 9 years ago, Mrs. Le Thi Duong (51 years old) had to leave her hometown in Do Luong district and carry her little son Tran Anh Duc, who was just over 4 years old, to Muong Xen town (Ky Son) to earn a living. The mother and son rented a house at the foot of the old suspension bridge to sell groceries to make a living.

Mrs. Duong said: when he was 5 years old, Anh Duc went to study at Muong Xen Town Kindergarten. Because of her busy work, she sometimes asked the students who were staying nearby to take him to school. But then an unfortunate accident left Anh Duc disabled for life.

Ms. Le Thi Duong and her children at a small grocery store. Photo: Dao Tho

One morning in April 2010, a car hit the bicycle carrying Anh Duc to school. He was hit by the car and fell into a ditch on the side of the road and was unconscious...

When Duc was taken to Ky Son District General Hospital for emergency treatment, the doctors diagnosed him with a broken leg and bandaged it. The mother's intuition told her that something was wrong with her son, so Ms. Duong asked to have him transferred to a higher level hospital.

After 3 days at Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital, the doctors still had no specific conclusion about Duc's case. However, when cleaning her son, seeing that he felt nothing, Mrs. Duong quickly reported it to the hospital.

The accident caused the boy Tran Anh Duc to have his spinal cord severed at the level of his chest. Photo: Dao Tho

After learning that her son was paralyzed, Mrs. Duong took him to see a doctor and receive treatment at all the major hospitals in Hanoi. But all the mother's hopes were dashed when the doctors concluded that Anh Duc's spinal cord had been severed at the level of his chest. Her heart ached when she saw that her son could only move his arms up, and was completely paralyzed from the chest down.

The family's finances were exhausted, and they borrowed money from relatives but it was still not enough to cover the cost of treatment for their son, so Mrs. Duong had to swallow her tears and take her son back to the countryside. Every month, her income from the grocery store was just enough to cover the daily expenses of the two of them. Luckily, a neighbor gave Duc a wheelchair so he could move around the house by himself.

Every day, in a wheelchair, Tran Anh Duc still studies enthusiastically. Photo: Dao Tho

After staying at home for a while, Anh Duc begged his mother to let him go to school to study with his friends. With the encouragement of his teachers, Duc learned his lessons very quickly and studied enthusiastically. From grade 1 to grade 5, Anh Duc was an advanced student at Muong Xen Primary School. Every day, Mrs. Duong silently pushed the cart to take him to class and then picked him up. In the 2017-2018 school year, Duc was an excellent student in Literature at Muong Xen Town Secondary School.

Seeing the skinny baby, with a crooked back and sores sitting engrossed in studying, made many people cry. “Now everything from eating to hygiene depends on her mother. Unfortunately, each meal she can only drink a little milk and a few spoonfuls of rice... I just wish I had some money to take her for treatment, to help her ease her pain,” said Mrs. Duong, tearfully.

For many years, Anh Duc has been an excellent student at school. Photo: Dao Tho

The situation of Le Thi Duong and her children is in dire need of attention and help from philanthropists so that she can be treated and continue to pursue her passion for writing.

Please send any help to the Department of Publishing and Social Activities - Nghe An Newspaper, No. 3, Le Nin Avenue, Hung Phuc Ward - Vinh City - Nghe An. Contact phone: (023)83.588138; (023)88600006.

Or: Mrs. Le Thi Duong, block 4, Muong Xen town (Ky Son).