Single mother finds life for daughter with brain tumor

“At that time, I stood still, unable to accept reality, then hugged my child and sobbed,” said Dung. Eight months ago, little Vo Nguyen Ngoc Han, 6 years old, suddenly became weak on the right side of the body, often fell, had headaches, vomited and had difficulty speaking. Went to Tien Giang General Hospital for a checkup, the doctor suspected a malignant brain tumor and transferred the baby to Ho Chi Minh City. At Children’s Hospital 2, Han was diagnosed with a large 3.5 cm intraventricular tumor, meningeal metastases, brain compression leading to weakness, and worsening headache. Doctors prescribe urgent surgery to remove the tumor, otherwise the baby is at risk of dying.

After surgery, the biopsy results confirmed a malignant brain tumor (cancer), combination treatment with chemotherapy and radiation. Prior to being transferred to the Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital for further treatment, Ms. Han developed an infection in the tube that drains the cerebrospinal fluid, and stayed in the pediatric hospital for almost two more months.

The chemotherapy and radiotherapy process with Han took a long time and was interrupted many times. The baby had two more blockages in the tube that drains cerebrospinal fluid, had to commute between two hospitals for tube surgery, and had many side effects. There are times when babies don’t cooperate with medication.

Doctor Ngo Thi Thanh Thuy, Department of Pediatric Oncology, Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital, who directly treated Ms. Han, said that when she was first transferred to the hospital, her prognosis for successful treatment was quite low. Babies have the most malignant type of brain tumor, the tumor is located deep in a very dangerous position, if the tumor is removed it will also remove brain cells that have been attacked. Whereas brain cells cannot regenerate, other parts of the brain can only increase activity to compensate for the lost function. Therefore, after the operation, the baby has difficulty in correcting his slurred speech, involuntary defecation, half of the body is weak and cannot walk. In particular, malignant brain tumors can recur many times, the tumor growth rate is fast, the ability to metastasize is high, so pediatric patients are at risk for repeated operations.

According to Dr. Thuy, childhood cancer only accounts for 1% of all cancers at all ages. Within this 1%, 30-40% are brain tumors, the most common being solid tumors, mostly malignant. Benign tumors are also very dangerous because they are located in the brain – an important organ. The tumor is too large and presses on the nerves, causing paralysis of the limbs, if located in the respiratory center, causing cardiac arrest and apnea. The direct cause of brain tumors has not been determined. There are many risk factors such as genetic mutations, during pregnancy, the mother is using chemotherapy, is undergoing cancer treatment, or the child is exposed to radiation …

Doctors planned the optimal treatment for baby Han, a total of 6 chemotherapy prescriptions and 40 radiation treatments, scheduled to be carried out alternately. However, during the first 4 rounds of chemotherapy, the baby’s health deteriorated severely. After the operation, along with the side effects of chemotherapy, the baby was vomiting, fever, decreased white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. In, should continue to receive rehydration blood and blood products. . Usually, if the medication responds, the patient only needs to be hospitalized for a week to be able to go home, while Han stays in the hospital for a month. Doctors repeatedly adjust the next dose of the drug, to kill the cancer cells and make the baby more comfortable.

In radiotherapy, he had to wear a mesh mask near his face and fix the beam points. Han was scared and protested. Lying on the X-ray table, the girl was crying, kicking, and waving her arms, not letting the doctor manipulate. Her mother always remembers the feeling of “standing outside the bedroom door listening to the child screaming for her mother, her heart aches but she can’t do anything about it”. After 6 days in a row, Han refused radiation therapy, however soothing it was, the doctors had to continue with the remaining 2 chemotherapy prescriptions. It is hoped that after 6 chemotherapy prescriptions, the doctor will try radiation therapy for Han again, if it doesn’t work, he will be transferred to Hue Central Hospital – where there is an anesthetic technique for radiation therapy.

Going to Hue would increase Han’s chances of survival, but it would also be a burden to a single mother. Ms Dung said after the divorce in 2018, she raised the two children, renting a room near a school that sold fried fish balls for a living. The profit of about 3 million VND a month is just enough to pay for the school and living expenses of the parents and children. When Han fell ill and was hospitalized constantly, he sent his eldest son to his mother-in-law for treatment. Relatives on both sides were poor, and she borrowed money from everywhere to care for her children.

Initially Han was treated as an outpatient, the mother and daughter did not have the money to rent an inn, so she asked him to be admitted to an inpatient hospital. There are many patients, many children have to share the bed, and the mother sleeps under the bed. For almost a year while her child was hospitalized, she did not dare to buy herself a box of lunch, but ate rice and porridge for charity. The Department of Social Work of the Oncology Hospital prioritizes splicing and giving gifts from benefactors to mothers and daughters. Newspaper Hope Fund VnExpress also supports 30 million dong to share the burden with mom. All the money she had, Bu Dung spent on medicine and buying milk for her children.

Currently, in addition to the costs covered by 100% Health Insurance, Ms. Dung owed more than 40 million dong to buy prescription drugs from the list. Doctors estimate that radiation therapy costs for baby Han in Hue cost around 70 million VND, not including travel and food costs. “I want to save my children but there is nothing to sell. My most valuable assets are only two children”, said Bu Dung sadly about the future.

Last weekend, Han completed the 5th chemical train and was able to go home to rest for 10 days. Back in Tien Giang, Bu Dung sent her children to her grandmother’s house, pushing a fish ball cart for a walk. He asked someone to introduce seasonal work to earn extra income, preparing for the upcoming long-term battle to take care of baby Han. “As long as he can live, I will spend the rest of my life with him,” said the mother.

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at Blogtuan.info – Source: vnexpress.net – Read the original article here