21 years of caring for a bedridden child.

As a matter of routine, almost every morning, Mrs. Thai Thi Ly (born in 1949), residing in Ward 2, Cam Lo town, Cam Lo district, wakes up early and goes to her usual noodle shop to help out. Knowing she is old and often ill, and unable to help much, Mrs. Ly refuses payment, only asking for a bowl of noodles for herself and her child. At her advanced age, she is still constantly worried about her bedridden child.

Ms. Thai Thi Ly takes care of her bedridden son - Photo: TL

At 76, Mrs. Ly still speaks fluently. She recounts that she was born and raised in difficult circumstances. Her parents struggled to raise 12 children. At 25, Mrs. Ly got married. However, her marital happiness was not complete. After the separation, Mrs. Ly had to take care of two children. At that time, the youngest was still an infant, and the oldest was still unsteady on her feet. Difficulties plagued her constantly. Her greatest comfort was that her children were both healthy and loved their mother.

However, life once again presented Mrs. Ly with a harsh challenge. In 2004, her son, Pham Truong Nguyen, was involved in a traffic accident. To save her son, Mrs. Ly borrowed money from everywhere and sold everything she could, but the doctors could only save his life; they couldn't help him recover. Twenty-one years have passed since then, and Mrs. Ly's son is still unable to leave his hospital bed. All his eating, drinking, and hygiene depend entirely on his aging mother.

Speaking with tears in her eyes, Mrs. Ly said that she used to think that if she tried hard to care for and train her child, the child could sit up and walk again. However, as time passed, her child's limbs became increasingly contracted. Whenever the weather changed, the injuries on her child's body would cause the child to cry out in pain all night. Mrs. Ly had to stay awake all night massaging the child's limbs, encouraging and comforting her.

Since her son's accident left him bedridden, Mrs. Ly has been unable to work or do any odd jobs. The two of them live on a meager government allowance. Their makeshift house is increasingly dilapidated. Whenever there's heavy rain, water from the road floods into the house, causing constant worry for the elderly mother. Mrs. Ly has long harboured plans to raise the house's foundation, but she is powerless to do so. Her greater worry is how to provide three meals a day and medicine when she is ill...

As she aged, her health declined. Along with that, Mrs. Ly's worries grew. She only wished to live a long life to be a support for her son.

Tay Long

All donations for Ms. Thai Thi Ly should be sent to Quang Tri Newspaper, 311 Hung Vuong Street, Dong Ha City (Tel: 0919001317) or transferred to the account: Quang Tri Newspaper, Account number: 0771000000456 at Vietnam Foreign Trade Joint Stock Commercial Bank - Quang Tri Branch, or sent directly to the family at the address: Ms. Thai Thi Ly (born in 1949), residing at Quarter 2, Cam Lo Town, Cam Lo District, Quang Tri Province.

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/21-nam-cham-con-liet-giuong-192580.htm