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Night car trips to save children of Cham mothers

Ho Chi Minh CityAt 3 am, just getting off the bus, Ms. Thanh took a motorbike taxi with her child to Children 2 Hospital, then waited until it was time for a follow-up examination.

Over the past year, Ms. Mai Thi Thanh has gone and returned more than 20 trips in the night between Bac Binh, Binh Thuan and Saigon districts to treat her son’s marrow cancer like that. Although she is familiar with the buses and roads to the hospital, her journey is always accompanied by her father-in-law who are over 60 years old. Ms. Thanh’s husband, Dang Hong Si, 47 years old, still has to work as a hired laborer to earn money for medical treatment, so he cannot follow.

“I got motion sickness, just got in the car and was exhausted, the journey nearly 300 km into Saigon vomited countless times. I was slow, illiterate, afraid of going to the hospital, there was something urgent that I couldn’t manage in time to take care of me. give it to me,” said the 43-year-old Cham mother.





Thanh's mother and daughter wait for the announcement of test results on the morning of May 19 at Children's Hospital 2. Photo: Ha Vy.

Thanh’s mother and daughter waited for the announcement of test results on the morning of May 19 at Children’s Hospital 2. Photo: Ha Vy.

More than a year ago, the youngest son, Hoang Phuong, was in 2nd grade at that time. One day, his leg suddenly appeared bruised and disappeared after a few days. After that, she complained of pain in her anus, so much so that she could not walk on her own. Ms. Thanh took her child to the provincial hospital for examination, the doctor gave her medicine to take, but there was no improvement. Finally, they advised her to take her son to Saigon for medical examination.

Thinking of her child’s health, the mother nodded immediately. But a few seconds later, she suddenly remembered that there was only one million dong left in her pocket. At home, she ran around the neighborhood and borrowed another two million. But she and her husband work as hired laborers all year round and have never been to Saigon, so they are very worried. The family discussed and sent her mother-in-law to accompany her because she used to take care of a grandchild at Children’s Hospital 2.

Right in the night, my parents and children took the car into the city. The amount of three million dong is divided into two, she keeps half, mother-in-law keeps half, in case her pocket is cut, she won’t lose it all. After more than 5 hours of fighting with car sickness, the Cham mother set foot in Saigon with a vomiting battle that emptied everything in her stomach.

The trip seemed to only cure the disease in the anus for the child, and Thanh suddenly received more evil spirits. The doctor said that Phuong was anemic and had to receive a blood transfusion immediately. Only then did she understand the reason why her son’s skin was always white.

“The blood transfusion needle passed through the skin, the baby cried because of the pain, but I didn’t know what to do. The mothers in the room advised me to sit next to him, rub and stroke his hand,” the mother cried, recounting. But the bad news doesn’t stop there. Doctors suspect Hoang Phuong has acute myeloid leukemia, a cancer of the blood cells and bone marrow, which requires immediate treatment.

Because the sample had to be transferred to the Blood Transfusion – Hematology Hospital for testing, the doctor called Ms. Thanh into the room to explain the child’s condition and inform more about the cost to prepare, about 12 million VND.

“I have 5 children, although the two older children have dropped out of school to work, but have also helped their parents to raise their younger siblings, so I don’t have any spare. My husband and I work as hired laborers, day in and day out. Now we only sell two motorbikes. Only old people have money in the house, but I don’t have enough,” Thanh said.

Thanh’s mother-in-law dares to call and ask to borrow a relative who is working as a hired worker in Saigon. Half a day later, they brought to lend 15 million VND. Holding money in hand, the mother thought she would never be able to pay in full.

Hospitalized for 5 days, Phuong was given chemotherapy. From that day on, my hair began to fall out in patches, my mouth sores, I couldn’t eat rice, and I insisted my mother take me home. I couldn’t eat, my mother could not swallow, every night she hugged me and cried and whispered: “The doctor said that I was sick, I had to stay and treat it all before I could go home”. So the boy fell asleep, fell asleep in his mother’s arms.

After the first prescription, which lasted for a month, Phuong was sent home. But after only two days, Ms. Thanh had to hire an ambulance to take her child to Saigon at night because she had a fever. In addition to the three million dong for the car, the cost of living at the hospital for a month on chemicals costs about 4-5 million more.

“As long as the doctor is still receiving treatment, not returning the child like many other children I have seen in the department, I know that my child is lucky and has a chance,” the mother shared.





Baby Hoang Phuong is looking at her picture from a year ago, at this time with the first prescription of chemotherapy, she lost all her hair.  Photo: Ha Vy.

Baby Hoang Phuong is looking at her picture from a year ago, at this time with the first prescription of chemotherapy, she lost all her hair. Image: Ha Vy.

Doctors at the Department of Hematology at Children’s Hospital 2 said that Phuong has now completed the regimen. Every 28 days, my mother took me to the hospital for re-examination and some tests to monitor.

Half a year this year, when her health is better, Ms. Thanh often goes to Saigon with her children by bus. The mother chooses to take the last bus of the day in the evening to save time. After about 5 hours in the car, her mother and daughter will be at the hospital at around 3-4 am, then wait until the earliest time to be examined. After the doctor returned the results to Phuong, she hurriedly booked a ticket to return in the early afternoon.

The cost of each trip to re-examination costs nearly 2 million VND, and Thanh is supported by her two older children from her salary. The children also helped their mother pay off a debt of 15 million VND borrowed on the day Phuong was hospitalized.

Ms. Thanh said that she only paid 12 million in hospital fees on the first day of admission. Later, the program Sun Hope supported her treatment costs, so her family did not have to pay any more. “Without the support of the community, I don’t think I would be able to save my child,” she said emotionally, thanking her.

At nearly 9 a.m., while Grandpa Phuong walked to the gate to buy breakfast, Thanh’s mother and daughter sat in front of the clinic waiting for the doctor to announce the test results of their son. The mother, who is not fluent in Kinh language, fidgeted and waited anxiously for her name to be called from the loudspeaker. Little Phuong, on the other hand, opened her phone to look at pictures with her bald head more than a year ago.

“My hair has grown back now, but I always remember the first day I was hospitalized,” the boy said. As soon as the child finished speaking, Ms. Thanh immediately continued: “The boy asked me to take pictures, said to keep as a souvenir”, then burst into tears, his eyes looking far away because he suddenly thought of “I will leave you”.

Only when the doctor called her name, informed that her son’s health was stable and there were no abnormal signs, did Thanh’s eyes light up, showing her first smile after staying up all night.

Ha Vy

With the goal of igniting the faith of children with cancer, the Hope Foundation cooperates with the Mr. Sun program to launch the Sun of Hope program. One more community’s cooperation is another ray of light to the future generations of the country.

Readers can see information about the program here.

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