Suffering from thalassemia, Ms. Hoang Thi Toan is still healthy and happy thanks to the blood donated by kind-hearted people. (Photo: NVCC).
This year, 40 years ago, is the same time that Ms. Hoang Thi Toan in Trieu Son commune has lived on the drops of blood that everyone shares. When she was born, Ms. Hoang Thi Toan was as healthy as any other child. But when she was 3 years old, she often showed signs of fatigue, pale, yellow skin, followed by pain and slow body development. Her family took her to the doctor, the doctor concluded that she had congenital hemolytic disease (Thalassemia - a genetic blood disease). When the doctors advised her for treatment, the whole family was shocked, not thinking that her child had a chance to survive because the treatment process was lifelong, associated with a special "medicine" that was not sold at any pharmacy but only the human body could produce - blood. Although the family was completely devastated by the bad news, with the love of her parents, she chose not to give up.
At first, to have enough blood for treatment, family members lined up one by one to "take turns" donating blood for Toan. At that time, if Toan's body did not receive regular blood transfusions and iron removal, her life would be in danger and her internal organs would swell, her body would deform... From then on, Toan's life was tied to the hospital, with long-term blood transfusions and iron removal.
From childhood until now, when she is a middle-aged woman, Toan has spent as much time in the hospital as she has at home because she often needs blood transfusions. On average, Toan has to stay in the hospital for 12 to 13 days, each time she has to receive 4 to 5 units of blood. The number of times she has received blood transfusions is countless, which means it is impossible to count the number of times she has been revived thanks to the donated blood circulating in her body. After 4 decades, all of her daily activities still take place like a normal person.
Patients being treated for Thalassemia with Ms. Toan. (Photo: NVCC).
Ms. Toan emotionally said: "Up to now, my family and I sometimes still think we are dreaming, not believing in our own "miracle". I have lived all these years thanks to the blood donated by kind-hearted people who shared their blood for the sick. I have lived thanks to those drops of blood. Deep in my heart, I am always grateful to my family members, friends and especially those who have never met my face or name but have shared their blood so that sick people like us have the opportunity to live and have a good life today. Every drop of good life today. blood given to a sick person is giving life and hope.”
Deep in my heart, I am always grateful to my family members, friends and especially those who have never met my face or name but have shared their drops of blood so that sick people like us have a chance to live and have a good life today. Every drop of blood given to a sick person is giving life and hope...
After more than 40 years of living with illness, with complications such as diabetes, heart failure, liver abscess, polyarthritis, etc., Ms. Toan has learned to adapt, and more than that, learned to live optimistically, lovingly and never stop hoping. Illness teaches her to cherish every moment of life, even the smallest. And if anyone asks her what her dream is, Ms. Toan says: "I wish to have a healthy and independent life - to open a small grocery store, have a job to pay for hospital bills, and reduce the burden on my nearly 80-year-old mother." It sounds simple, but it is a whole sky of aspirations. Ms. Toan always believes that: a healthy life is the foundation for all good things. When we are healthy, we can love, give and contribute more - not something big, but just small kindnesses, enough to warm people's hearts.
Donated blood units not only sustain a person's life, but also create a new life, a new hope. However, blood transfusions are not always favorable for all patients. In those hundreds of blood transfusions, many times Ms. Toan or many other patients had to wait for blood. Having to wait for blood, and having to transfuse blood sparingly makes patients tired, lifeless, and life-threatening. Therefore, there is no other way, the hospital has to “save” treatment.
Le Dang Khoi (8 years old), from Giao An commune, had a pale face, his hands stuck to the blood transfusion needle. Khoi's small, thin hands had been stuck to that huge needle since he was 2 years old.
Khoi suffers from anemia due to congenital hemolytic anemia: red blood cells will break down over time due to genetic mutations. This terrible disease will never be cured and the only treatment is a blood transfusion, otherwise it will be life-threatening. Once a month, Khoi and his mother traveled more than 100 kilometers from Giao Thien commune (former Lang Chanh district, now merged into Giao An commune) to Thanh Hoa Children's Hospital for a 10-day blood transfusion.
My family always considers blood donors as beneficial factors, even though some of them we have had the opportunity to meet and thank, and some of them we have never met. They have quietly given their lives without expecting anything in return.
But when he got to the hospital, he still had to wait because blood was scarce. Khoi's mother had to post information on social media asking for volunteers to donate blood for her son. Because if he didn't donate blood in time, Khoi's facial bones, jaw bones, and skull would be at risk of breaking and becoming deformed.
Ms. Pham Lien, Dang Khoi's mother, emotionally shared: “My family always considers blood donors as benefactors, even though some of them we have had the opportunity to meet and thank, and some of them we have never met. They have quietly given their lives without expecting anything in return.”
Ms. Hoang Thi Toan and a friend in the same situation received a prize in a writing contest about thalassemia, inspiring other patients. (Photo: NVCC).
Modern society with its busy pace of life, but that does not mean that human love fades away. In that giving and receiving, a deep bond has been formed, creating good relationships, contributing to making life more colorful and meaningful.
Thalassemia is a group of hemoglobinopathies that cause hereditary anemia and hemolysis. Each type of disease is due to an abnormal synthesis of one type of globin chain. There are two main types of disease: alpha thalassemia and beta thalassemia; in addition, there are other types combined such as thalassemia and hemoglobinopathies. Doctors recommend: To prevent thalassemia and give birth to healthy children, young people and those of childbearing age should proactively test and screen for disease genes as soon as possible. |
Minh Ha
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Lesson 4: Where love begins
Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/cau-chuyen-nho-trong-hanh-trinh-do-bai-3-nguon-song-tu-nhung-nguoi-xa-la-254097.htm
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