Like a sunflower

Life events

With a voice still a bit difficult due to the intubation, Thao said: "One day in early winter 2010, when I was 15 years old, on the way home from school, I unfortunately had an accident."

The accident left Thao with a ruptured rectum, a ruptured bladder, a ruptured pelvis, a ruptured diaphragm, and a severely crushed back part of her body. Due to the long hospital stay, two-thirds of her left lung was removed and her entire stomach was removed due to complications. Those injuries seemed to be too much for the 10th grader's body to bear.

From a little girl with a peaceful home, Thao's life has been tied to a hospital bed. Over a year of treatment at leading hospitals across the country, Thao has undergone dozens of major surgeries lasting many hours.

The number of more than 100 units of blood transfused is enough to show the terrible extent of the accident. There were times when it seemed that she would not survive, but with her mother's tears and her father's love, along with the enthusiasm of good doctors and the care of many people, Thao miraculously overcame the critical condition.

However, the hardships were not over. The journey of recovery was a real challenge. Thao started to learn to speak like a two-year-old child. Due to lying down for so long, her legs seemed paralyzed. The little girl experienced pain once again from learning to walk in the bitter cold of a freezing winter day.

However, every time she saw her mother's gray hair and her father's haggard appearance after the long months of following her to hospitals, Thao felt she needed to recover and walk on her own two feet.

Like a sunflower always facing the sun, Phuong Thao gradually returned to life. Her first words, her first steps made everyone burst into happiness.

Nothing is impossible

During the months lying in bed, the little girl's joy was learning English and reading books. Thao's idols were speaker Nick Vujicic and translator Nguyen Bich Lan. Those two people, although born with a damaged body or a serious illness, built their own fairy tale and inspired many people. Thao also wished to live like that. She not only went back to school after 2 years of absence but also made an effort to become a student of the English Language Faculty, Banking Academy. The sunlight warmed her youthful soul again. That was also when Thao began to write the first lines of the book "Live life to the fullest because life is short".

With the pen name Thao Min, in nearly 300 pages, the author has told her own story of fighting death and life after the incident. As the title of the book, Phuong Thao wants to convey the message: Living life to the fullest is to cherish every minute, every second; living life to the fullest to see that what you have is precious; living life to the fullest to not waste your youth, silently thanking the past to have the present moments. That is also the reason why this book makes a difference in the current stream of self-improvement and self-development books.

In the very first pages, the author wrote: “We all have difficult times. Difficulties are gifts cleverly disguised as challenges, giving us more strength. I hope that through my story, I can somehow help people find faith and motivation in life.”

Every page of the book is filled with pain. It was the love of everyone and her own efforts that helped the little girl with two lovely pigtails to be born again.

Artist Lai Hien Luong, who illustrated the book, shared: “Although Phuong Thao’s writing style is not as polished as a professional writer’s, it is her simplicity and sincerity that made me accept the assignment to illustrate. The girl on the cover is both the character’s silhouette and the image of the reader turning the pages of the book. I hope that when the reader opens the book, the words will bloom like flowers, blooming from the soul.”

By the end of 2024, the book will be published by Dan Tri Publishing House. The book is currently sold at Fahasa Bookstore System, Dong Tay Bookstore and e-commerce platforms such as Tiki, Shopee...

Continue writing the dream

With extraordinary efforts and optimism to overcome the pain of illness, Thao was not only able to attend university but also met the love of her life. It was a perfect ending to a youthful journey that, although bumpy, bore sweet fruit.

Currently, Thao is dedicated to teaching English to children. She finds joy in her young students. In addition, her passion for drawing and playing the piano also gives this young girl leisure time.

Thao shared: “I see that life is so fragile. Through this small book, I hope that everyone, no matter what obstacles they encounter, will try their best and be as lucky as I am.”

Instead of saying goodbye, Thao played a song for me. The melody of the song resonated in the summer sunset. If life was like a song, then hopefully, Thao's life would only have happy melodies.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/nhu-doa-huong-duong-post649454.html