Tearful reunion of mentally ill woman who wandered for 17 years

After 17 years of wandering, a mentally ill woman from Hai Phong was helped by Thanh Hoa province authorities to find her relatives. The family reunion was filled with tears.

Nearly 2 decades waiting for wife to return

For nearly a week, the house of Mr. Bui Van Dat (54 years old), in Hop Thanh commune, Thuy Nguyen district, Hai Phong city, has been filled with joy and happy smiles. Relatives and neighbors came to congratulate him on finding his wife, Mrs. Mac Thi Mai (55 years old), after 17 years of wandering .

Mr. Bui Van Dat - Mai's husband, was moved when talking about his wife's 17-year journey of wandering (Photo: Hoang Son).

Still in tears, Mr. Dat said that he and his wife had three children. Before, Mr. Dat worked as a carpenter while his wife stayed home to farm. Their family life was happy until disaster struck.

In 1995, when her youngest son was 5 months old, Mrs. Mai had a traffic accident that resulted in mild mental illness. Occasionally, she would have seizures and wander around, causing her family to have trouble finding her many times.

Portrait of Mrs. Mac Thi Mai when she was young (Photo: Family provided).

On the afternoon of November 6, 2006, Ms. Mai borrowed her sister's bicycle and then left home. Late that night, her family did not see her return. They searched everywhere but found "no trace". Ms. Mai has been missing ever since.

Mr. Dat said that since his wife went missing, he and his children have been constantly looking forward to it and continuously posting information about his wife in newspapers and radio stations in the hope of finding Mrs. Mai.

"Whenever someone has any information about my wife, I go looking for her. Once, I heard that someone who looked like my wife had an accident in Tien Hai district ( Thai Binh province). The whole family took a luxury car to verify for 2 days but it wasn't my wife, so we left disappointed," said Mr. Dat.

Since his wife left, Mr. Dat has never stopped thinking about her. "After my wife left, for many years, I have been the only one who has raised three children, educated them, and married them off. Being a single father raising children is sometimes sad, there are nights when I just sit and cry alone. Although I have no information after many years of searching, I have never thought that she is dead, but only thought that my wife is wandering like a homeless person somewhere, or was sold abroad by bad people," Mr. Dat confided with a choked voice.

Miraculous reunion

On the day he met Mrs. Mai again, Mr. Dat was so moved that he could not speak. Looking at his wife with her thin body, the normally strong man could not hold back his tears.

Mr. Dat said that this is a miracle, the happiest and luckiest thing in his life. "For nearly 20 years, I have been waiting for the day to reunite with my wife. On May 19, while working as a worker, I received a notice from the People's Committee of Hop Thanh commune, there was a homeless woman, mentally ill like my wife, being treated at Thanh Hoa Provincial Mental Hospital. When I saw the photo, I cried," Mr. Dat emotionally said.

According to Mr. Dat, to have a miraculous reunion like today, the great credit is thanks to the dedicated help of the Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs (LĐ-TB&XH) of Thanh Hoa city, Thanh Hoa Mental Hospital and local authorities.

"Without this help, I don't know when I would have seen my wife again. I am extremely grateful to the doctors and nurses of Thanh Hoa Mental Hospital, the officials of Dong Huong ward and the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs of Thanh Hoa city for their dedication, responsibility and connection to help our family find our relatives," Mr. Dat confided.

Previously, on the streets of Thanh Hoa city, there was a homeless woman in her 50s, thin, dressed in rags, with unusual behavior.

During the day, she wandered around begging for food at roadside stalls, and at night she slept on the sidewalk. During her patrol in the area, Mr. Ninh Ngoc Que - Head of the urban regulations inspection team of Dong Huong ward approached her and took her to the ward's health station for care. The health station then coordinated with the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs of Thanh Hoa city to complete the procedures to take her to Thanh Hoa Mental Hospital for treatment.

10 days later, a miracle happened, the woman partially recovered her memory, revealing her name was Mac Thi Mai, from Hop Thanh commune, Thuy Nguyen district, Hai Phong city.

Ms. Mai's family members, representatives of Thanh Hoa Mental Hospital and local authorities took a souvenir photo (Photo: Provided by the hospital).

Based on the information provided by Ms. Mai, the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs of Thanh Hoa City coordinated with the hospital to contact the locality where Ms. Mai lived, identify relatives and connect the reunion.

After completing the procedures, at 6:00 p.m. on May 20, the car carrying Mrs. Mai returned to her hometown in the joy and happiness of her whole family and neighbors.

Returning home after 17 years of wandering, Mrs. Mai remembered all the names of her family members. She did not recognize her youngest son, Bui Van Manh.

Mr. Bui Van Manh was happy to see his mother again after 17 years apart (Photo: Hoang Son).

"My mother left home when I was 11 years old. All those years without her by my side, our family's life was completely turned upside down. Every time I think of my mother, I feel more sorry for my father. He suffered a lot while raising his young children alone. Now that my mother has returned, seeing my father happy and joyful, we feel very satisfied. In the future, we will make up for the hardships and hardships my mother went through," said Bui Van Manh.

Dr. Le Bat Tan - Director of Thanh Hoa Mental Hospital said that due to 17 years of wandering without treatment or medication, at first, patient Mac Thi Mai could not remember anything. When being cared for and treated according to the regimen, the patient gradually recovered her memory. However, the patient currently only remembers part of her memories. "Witnessing the story of Mrs. Mai's reunion after 17 years, we doctors were also very moved. Hopefully the patient's health will progress well so that she can integrate into family life. In the near future, the patient will return to her family. We have prescribed and given specific instructions to the family about the next steps of treatment. During this time, the family needs to care for, love, care for and give the patient medication as prescribed by the doctor. After that, the patient needs to be taken to a specialized medical facility for further monitoring and treatment," Dr. Tan informed.

Thanh Tung

05/26/2023

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