Reconnecting unfinished dreams

One weekend morning, at VietHealth Orthopedic Clinic (Nhieu Loc Ward, Ho Chi Minh City), dozens of people showed up early to wait for examination and free prosthetic limb fitting support. The program "Making prosthetic limbs for people in remote areas" comes from the hearts of ordinary workers...

The joy of walking

Little girl Le Nguyen Y Nhi sat obediently in her father’s lap, waiting for her name to be called for examination. Her father, Le Hoang Duy, a man in his early 30s, was emaciated from struggling to make a living and fighting bone cancer with his daughter.

For over a year now, Nhi and her father have been regularly traveling from Dong Nai to the Children's Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City to receive chemotherapy and undergo surgery to amputate her left leg. To date, Nhi's illness has been basically cured. Duy has given up all his fields to help his daughter with her treatment, while his wife stays home to take care of their one-year-old child. He has switched to working for hire, doing whatever he can find, earning about 300,000 VND per day. That small amount of money is all he needs to cover travel, accommodation, and medicine expenses...

Seeing her 4-year-old sister burst into tears because she was afraid of the doctor, Nhi gave her 2 candies. Nhi loved her sister and hoped to soon have a prosthetic leg so she could carry her sister out. When it was her turn, Nhi chatted happily with the doctor: "I love going to school, I miss my friends and teacher so much". Mr. Le Hoang Duy choked up as he thanked the doctor: "The family does not have enough money to get a prosthetic leg for my child, so we are planning to save up for a while longer. When we heard that our child would get a free prosthetic leg, my husband and I were so happy."

Doctor Huynh Van Phi examined at the program

Sitting next to Nhi is Mr. Huynh Van Son (born in 1958), his body only has one healthy arm. In his old age, he still struggles to make a living selling lottery tickets to support himself and his family. “I was born with all my arms and legs, then an accident suddenly happened when I was in my 20s. My life took a completely different direction. Luckily, I have a loving wife who dared to marry me and gave birth to three children, raising them to be good people,” Mr. Son shared.

Having no prosthetic limbs or a wheelchair, Mr. Son uses an electric car given to him by an acquaintance to sell lottery tickets. “I used to be criticized, shunned, had my lottery tickets snatched, had my lottery tickets exchanged for fake ones… With prosthetic legs, I can walk normally, less dependent on my family, and not rely on anyone,” Mr. Son confided. For more than 40 years, living with two damaged legs and an arm, never once being able to walk like a normal person, now Mr. Son has that opportunity. Something that seems simple to many people, but to him is a dream.

Connecting love

As a physical therapist and rehabilitation specialist for more than 20 years, Dr. Huynh Van Phi, Deputy Director in charge of the Ho Chi Minh City Orthopedic and Rehabilitation Center, was still silent for a moment when he heard the question of a boy who had to have one leg amputated due to bone cancer: "Doctor, will I be able to play soccer if I have a prosthetic leg?" Dr. Huynh Van Phi smiled and put his hand on the boy's shoulder: "Don't worry, you will have a beautiful leg to continue scoring goals."

Or when witnessing a man over 60 years old come with a prosthetic leg that had been used for more than 40 years, worn out and distorted to the point of deforming the joints, Dr. Phi and the team of doctors and medical staff were heartbroken by the man's endurance. Because of poverty, he had no choice but to continue walking on those legs.

Dr. Huynh Van Phi said that it was his sympathy for the pain of the patients that urged him to devote all his heart to somehow alleviating their pain. “Every year, under the direction of the Ministry of Home Affairs , we organize trips to many provinces and cities across the country to examine, treat and install prosthetic limbs for patients with mobility disabilities,” said Dr. Phi.

At the end of the examination, Mrs. Ho Thi Xuan Mai sat down to rest after a restless morning. Having worked as a volunteer for many years as a sponsor liaison, one of the most meaningful programs she has maintained for the past 17 years is “Free prosthetic limbs for the poor”.

According to Ms. Mai, there are people who have quietly accompanied the program for the past 17 years and have never appeared. “The supporters are not necessarily well-off, but they are very willing to share the loss and hardship of the people, so that they can do the work without having to ask for help from others,” Ms. Mai shared.

Having brought her three children from Tien Giang (now Dong Thap province) to Ho Chi Minh City with her husband, Mrs. Mai deeply sympathized with the unfortunate lives. Now that her children have grown up, she spends all her time connecting the needy with those willing to help. Silently looking at the smiles of the people in the clinic, Mrs. Mai cried. Perhaps, each act of helping others is a way to spread love in life.

According to Mr. Dang Anh Tuan, Director of VietHealth Company Limited, VietHealth currently has 3 branches in the North - Central - South regions, specializing in providing high-quality prosthetic solutions, orthopedic braces, flat foot insoles, personalized for each user at reasonable costs, suitable for the income of Vietnamese people.

The prosthetic limbs fitted free of charge for people in difficult circumstances at the program are designed by a team of specialized doctors and medical staff, using lightweight, durable, safe materials, ensuring comfort and optimal movement efficiency.

THU HOAI

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/noi-lai-nhung-uoc-mo-dang-do-post822700.html