The pitiful situation of Ms. Diep

Ms. Diep on the hospital bed

In April 2021, after a period of prolonged coughing and shortness of breath, Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Diep (44 years old, in Vu Xa village, Quang Khai commune, Tu Ky) went to Hai Duong Lung Hospital for examination and was found to have a tumor in her lung. She was then transferred to the Central Lung Hospital for treatment. Here, the doctors determined that in addition to a tumor in her lung, her bronchus also had cancer. After nearly 2 months of treatment at the hospital with the hope that the disease would progress well, Ms. Diep's wish could not come true when the cancer cells tended to metastasize and affect the brain. She was again prescribed brain radiation therapy by the doctors. Currently, every 20 days, she and her husband pack up and go to the Central Lung Hospital for treatment.

Since falling ill, Ms. Diep's teaching job at Quang Trung Secondary School has also been suspended, so all medical expenses and daily living expenses depend on her husband, Mr. Vu Van Tuyen, who earns a meager salary as a worker. However, in 2019, Mr. Tuyen suffered a work accident that tore his knee ligaments, so he is now unable to do heavy work. His monthly salary of more than 5 million VND is only enough to cover a small portion of his wife's treatment costs. "I just work as much as I can to have money to treat my wife," Mr. Tuyen said.

Not long after Ms. Diep discovered her terminal illness, her mother-in-law, Mrs. Tran Thi Thu (82 years old), also suffered a stroke and was paralyzed. The family's already difficult situation due to the treatment of Ms. Diep became even more difficult.

Loving her mother and two younger siblings, Ms. Vu Thi Lanh, Mr. Tuyen's older sister, comes every day to take care of her mother and sister-in-law in the hospital bed so that her younger brother and the children can go to work and school with peace of mind.

Ms. Diep's two children, Vu Tuan Dung (18 years old) and Vu Nhat Le (16 years old), are high school students and are also very understanding. Knowing the family's situation, after school hours, they take advantage of time to help their uncle take care of the house and their mother and grandmother. Instead of continuing to study at college or university as planned, Dung said: "I will temporarily stop studying to go to work, help my father take care of my grandmother and mother, and hope that their health will soon stabilize."

Now, money flows into Ms. Diep's house like wind into an empty house. The more than 300 million VND that she and her husband borrowed for medical treatment, they don't know when they will be able to pay it all back.

Mr. Nguyen Van Thoan, Chairman of the Red Cross Society of Quang Khai Commune (Tu Ky) said: "In the face of the difficult circumstances of Ms. Diep's family, recently, departments, branches, organizations in the commune, and neighbors have also given a lot of love, support, and encouragement to the family, but it is nothing compared to the difficulties that her family is facing."

Any help please send to Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Diep, Vu Xa village, Quang Khai commune, phone number: 0982.591.928 or to Ms. Diep's account number: 2312215010985, Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank).

NGUYEN HOANG