Working for 20 years at Military Hospital 5, Major Vu Hong Thuy has always been loved by her teammates for her dedication and devotion to the task of taking care of patients' health. Sharing about her work, Ms. Thuy expressed: "The work of a nurse is like that of a daughter-in-law of a hundred families, under a lot of pressure. They must not only practice meticulousness and thoughtfulness, but also have empathy, sharing, and devotion to patients."

Major of the People's Army Vu Hong Thuy (far right) and his teammates.

In her conversation with us, Ms. Thuy did not talk much about the difficulties in life when she and her husband often had to calculate their time scientifically to balance her time at work and taking care of their family. She also did not talk about the times when, due to work requirements, they were in the hospital more than at home; how they handled difficult patients, those without relatives to take care of them... However, Ms. Thuy recalled the memories of her days in South Sudan, her teammates, and the people here with so much warm affection with so many emotions. She said: "In June 2021, after passing the rigorous selection round, I was admitted and participated in a professional training course at the Military Medical Academy. Exactly one year later, as a nurse, I officially joined Field Hospital 1.1 of the No. 1 Engineering Team to carry out a United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Abyei region, South Sudan."

In the early days of her mission in Abyei, she and her teammates encouraged each other to overcome the difficulties in terms of facilities, harsh weather, and missing family and loved ones to be determined to complete the assigned tasks well. The mission left Ms. Thuy with many memorable memories. However, the most memorable for her was the vacation to visit her family. She and 4 teammates were given a month off to go back to Vietnam. But in reality, they only had 3 weeks to reunite with their families, and the remaining week was spent traveling back and forth. “Less than 24 hours after returning home to reunite with my family, I had a high fever that could not be cured. When I arrived at Military Hospital 103 (Military Medical Academy), I was asked to isolate myself from my family and relatives because I had contracted malaria. After 15 days of treatment at the hospital, the malaria was pushed back, which was also the time when my leave ended and I continued to return to Abyei to carry out my duties. At this time, my father had to be hospitalized for treatment, with the risk of surgery; while Tet was also approaching.” Worried about his father, sad because the time he had to spend with his two children and relatives was too little, and Tet was approaching, the atmosphere of family reunion was filling every house, and then thinking about the journey he would have to take on his own to return to Abyei, Major Vu Hong Thuy’s heart sank. Ms. Thuy said: “To ensure safety and support each other as best as possible, the group usually arranges for 5 people to take leave at a time. Because I was sick, my return to Abyei was delayed compared to my teammates. At that time, I was really overwhelmed with thoughts, but then I thought about my teammates, the days of sharing hardships, the trust of the people there, and the encouragement of my husband, and I felt like I had more strength.”

Returning to Abyei, Major Vu Hong Thuy and her teammates are working hard on their mission. In addition, she and her teammates actively participate in many volunteer activities such as providing free medical examinations and medicine to local people; organizing many meaningful activities, supporting school supplies for children, supporting milk and essential items for new mothers, and instructing local women on growing Vietnamese agricultural crops. She often takes advantage of her little free time to teach local children to sing songs about her and her mother, especially songs about beloved Uncle Ho. "Every time they see me, the children gather around and sing very loudly and clearly, those songs seem to express their love for the Vietnamese people, leaving me with a burning national pride," Thuy proudly said.

After finishing her business trip in South Sudan, returning to her job as a nurse at Military Hospital 5, her colleagues saw a gentle, responsible, dedicated Vu Hong Thuy, always wholeheartedly taking care of the health of patients; ready to support her teammates in difficult times. With her efforts, she was recognized by all levels, commended for her achievements, and was named a Basic Emulation Fighter in 2020; the United Nations awarded her the Medal for Peacekeeping (in 2022); the Director of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People's Army awarded her the title of Outstanding Female Cadre (in 2024).

Article and photos: VAN ANH

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    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/quoc-phong-an-ninh/xay-dung-quan-doi/no-luc-moi-ngay-de-hoan-thien-ban-than-837464