DO THI VAN

After giving birth to her second child, Thanh, Mrs. Do Thi Van was diagnosed with a medical problem with her heart. She cried many nights thinking about the large sum of money that would be needed to buy the life-saving medication. She thought to herself, it was ok to suffer alone in silence with her illness, after all, growing up she was so used to being weak from hunger. But now, she needed to be strong in order to earn enough to bring up her 2 sons, along with her frail husband who has his own medical problems of tuberculosis and gall stones. So with the smiles of her 2 children as her sole motivation, she put up a tenacious fight for life to overcome her own illness.

This husband and wife have worked hard to make ends meet. Despite the leaks in their roof and the freezing nights without any mattress or thick blanket to keep them warm, the family of four lived as happily as they could. Each time her sons brought back high honors from school, people in the village praised the boys for being so obedient and honest; Do Thi Van knew she was blessed to have them.

However, the family’s happiness did not last for very long. Mrs. Van was diagnosed with breast cancer after suffering from severe chest pains. The day she came back from the hospital, she could not walk straight. She thought about her sons Quang and Thanh who are still too young, and about the unaffordable cancer treatments and about the days ahead that her 2 sons would now possibly live without their mother’s care. Her legs went shaky yet she summoned all her strength and managed to walk back home from the hospital by herself.

At the gate of her house, her youngest son, who looks much smaller than his age, greeted her with a hug and said “I miss you Mommy!” while her oldest son was busy preparing lunch for the whole family before he leaves for school. She turned away to dry her tears. Then she thought the thought that has motivated her through all of her treatment,:”Each day that I am still alive is one more day my kids still have their Mom.” This thought has helped her pull through all of her physical pains – so far.

Thanks to the help of her extended family and fellow farmers, she underwent an operation to remove the tumor. However, as her health worsens and the tumors metastasize, her already poverty stricken family has been put in a destitute state. Now there are no warm clothes for the growing kids, no meat on the table, no clean water, only rice for the 2 under-nourished boys. Quang desperately wanted to quit school to earn money to cure his Mom, but luckily the boys were given scholarships from HSCV to stay in school. Other than that, this family is the poorest of the poor.

Sadly, the boys are receiving less and less care and attention from their parents. Mrs. Van spends most of her time in 2 hospitals, treating her heart condition, (which debilitates her condition) and at the same time, receives chemotherapy treatments for her tumors. Her husband, who is physically weak himself, spends days and nights looking after her in the hospitals. The two boys take care of themselves, waiting anxiously for the rare days when she comes back home from the hospital. When asked what they do while waiting for their Mom, Thanh said he often cries because he misses his Mom and he feels insecure and lonely without his mother around, while Quang the older son,confides he sings to ease his sadness and forget his worries. At the moment, Mrs. Van has one tumor on her neck. It is growing dangerously near the vital carotid artery, so it is almost impossible to be removed. At the same time, the family is in serious debt due to her four previous operations. They cannot even afford basic medicine now. Mrs. Van told us in tears, ”Please help me. As long as I live, Quang will still sing. As long as I live, Thanh will still hug me tight despite the smell from my body after chemotherapy treatment. And as long as I live, they will have their mother loving and caring for them.”

Supports to the poor mother are highly appreciated. You can make a donation online at: http://www.hscv.org/

Or send a check to:

HSCV, 2965 Spring Lake Road, Prior Lake, MN 55372, USA
Or
HSCV Vietnam, So 8, Ngo 145E Pho Yen Phu, Tay Ho, Hanoi, Vietnam

Tel.: 84 4 3 715 3673

Blogged by Tran Thi Minh Thu – HSCV member and Nguyen Minh Trang - HSCV volunteer