Exhausted because her young child is suffering from a serious illness.

Diagnosed with thalassemia since the age of one, three-year-old Ho Anh Duong, daughter of Ho Sy Ngoc Son (32 years old) and Phan Thi Kim Chi (30 years old) from Tan Duc village, Trieu Thanh commune, Trieu Phong district (now Trieu Phong commune), spends more time in the hospital than at home. Every day she has to take up to 12 different medications and has temporarily overcome the critical stage thanks to a bone marrow transplant from her older brother. However, the difficulties are far from over...

Ms. Chi and her daughter Ho Anh Duong - Photo: D.V.

Ms. Chi sadly recounted: In 2014, she and her husband got married and subsequently had two children, Ho Sy Nhat Tan (9 years old) and Anh Duong. After moving out on their own, the couple rented a room in Quang Tri town to make it easier for her sewing work. Every day, Ms. Chi would receive orders to sew at their rented room, while her husband worked as a construction laborer. Although they still faced many hardships, the young couple's life passed peacefully and happily. However, a tragedy struck the family in 2022. "When Anh Duong turned one year old, she showed signs of pale skin, a bluish complexion, and frequent fevers. When we took her to Hue Central Hospital for examination, my husband and I learned that she had thalassemia," Ms. Chi recalled.

Since Anh Duong fell ill, Chi quit her job and moved back to her parents' house to take care of her daughter. From then on, the hospital became like a second home for the little girl, as she spent more days in the hospital than at home. Every month, she had to go to Hue City once or twice for blood transfusions, and when her condition worsened, she had to stay in the hospital continuously for almost a month.

“The monthly cost for blood transfusions and medication is about 3-5 million VND. This is the money my husband earns from working as a construction laborer and porter. Despite the doctors' dedicated help, Anh Duong's health is deteriorating,” Ms. Chi said. In November 2024, the doctors announced that Anh Duong would receive a bone marrow transplant so she wouldn't need blood transfusions anymore. The whole family was overjoyed to hear the news. Ms. Chi and her husband borrowed 300 million VND from the bank and another 200 million VND from relatives and friends to cover the surgery costs for their daughter.

Looking at the scars still visible on her son Ho Sy Nhat Tan's back, Ms. Chi couldn't hold back her tears as she recalled the time her two sons underwent bone marrow transplants. "After the successful transplants, they were in different wards. Nhat Tan said he felt so sorry for his brother crying and just hoped he would get better soon so they could go home. Seeing the two brothers like that, I felt so heartbroken, wishing I could bear that pain for them," Ms. Chi sobbed.

Ms. Chi said that her son was discharged from the hospital a week after the bone marrow transplant, while Anh Duong had to stay in the intensive care unit for more than a month for monitoring. Six days after returning home, her daughter developed a cough and shortness of breath, so she had to return to the hospital for treatment and medication. Nearly two months later, she was diagnosed with a fungal lung infection. By February 2025, her condition had improved, and she was officially allowed to go home and take medication on her own, but she still had to go to the hospital once a week for blood tests and a general check-up.

In April 2025, bad news struck Chi's family again. During a follow-up examination, the doctor informed them that Ánh Dương's blood levels were lower than the standard, meaning a second bone marrow transplant was highly likely. We hope that kind hearts and a miracle will come to the little girl with the bright and hopeful name – Hồ Ánh Dương!

Duc Viet

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/kiet-que-vi-con-tho-mac-benh-hiem-ngheo-194489.htm