I thought I would lose my child, but thanks to the heart transplant, now he can still celebrate Tet...

The new heart transplant helped Phat get healthier - Photo: TRAN MAI

It had been a long time since Phat had had a complete Tet holiday, where he could visit his neighbors without feeling tired.

Phát is living thanks to the hearts of others, and the young man's whole family is overflowing with happiness. "Never before has the whole family celebrated Tet with such joyful laughter as this Tet of the Year of the Snake," said Mr. Huynh Van Tin (52 years old, Phát's father).

Darkness at the foot of the lamp

Pouring a cup of tea, Mr. Tin leisurely offered it to his guest. Every now and then, glancing at Phat, the kind-faced father would smile. Deep down, Mr. Tin always considered Phat his little child, needing his care and love for life.

Throughout the conversation, feelings of love and affection were intertwined, and Phat was at the center of a decade-long story. In 2014, Phat turned 13, excelling in his studies and being well-behaved. Seeing his son's intelligence, his father told his wife, "Our lives have been hard, but we must try our best to raise Phat so he can escape the life of a farmer. I believe he will achieve success."

Of course, Ms. Huynh Thi Hoang (49 years old, Phat's mother) shared the same hope. But the joy was short-lived, while the pain was long-lasting. During a football game with friends, Phat felt chest pain and then vomited violently. Mr. Tin rushed his son to Quang Ngai Provincial General Hospital for emergency treatment, and then transferred him to Da Nang Hospital.

The world collapsed before Mr. and Mrs. Tin's eyes when the results showed that Phat had dilated cardiomyopathy and end-stage heart failure. Phat's heart function was only 12%. The pain and fainting spells came constantly. Mrs. Hoang couldn't remember how many times her son had to be rushed to the hospital in critical condition.

Putting his arm around his son's shoulder, Mr. Tin said, "The feeling of being full of hope for my son, and then suddenly realizing that his life is in danger, is truly terrifying. It's like the darkness under a lamp, completely pitch black."

Sitting beside his father and listening to his story, Phat suddenly became pensive. Phat himself never imagined his life would take such a dead end. Although he had tried his best to overcome his illness, passed the university entrance exam, and even entered university, the constant struggle of climbing stairs and running out of breath forced him to give up his dream and return to his hometown.

"Since dropping out of university and returning home, I've been so exhausted that sometimes I'm out of breath just walking from the balcony to the yard. I didn't need a test; I already knew my life was coming to an end," Phat confided.

The "light of destiny" faded, and darkness enveloped Phat's life. But as a father, Mr. Tin refused to accept that reality. "While there's still hope," in 2018 Phat registered for the law.

heart transplant

At Hue Central Hospital, Mr. Tin finally confessed: "I registered for a heart transplant because, as a father, I couldn't bear to see my child suffer. But honestly, I understand that finding a compatible heart and the money for the surgery are truly beyond my family's means."

In fact, the hospital once announced a compatible heart, and compassionate doctors in Hue appealed to the community for support to perform the transplant to save Phat. But then the donated heart stopped beating, and the glimmer of hope was extinguished.

On subsequent occasions, whenever a heart was donated, the doctor would call Phat in for testing. Many times the tests came back incongruous, and many times he had to turn back halfway because the doctor announced that someone else had arrived for testing and was a match… "The doctors are very compassionate towards patients like me! They want to save everyone, but I know it's not easy," Phat said.

Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan and Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan visited Hue Central Hospital to see and give gifts to encourage Phat - Photo: Provided by the subject.

A stroke of luck came, rekindling hope for a heart transplant.

During those difficult years, Phat wandered the internet, searching for groups of people with similar illnesses to find a good remedy to save his weak heart. Then, luckily, a person who had undergone a heart transplant and was living healthily in Quang Ngai introduced Phat to retired teacher Nguyen Thi Thu Thao - the person who had previously appealed for help for him.

As if rekindling hope, Phát's grandfather took him to Nghĩa Thuận commune, Tư Nghĩa district, Quảng Ngãi province to find Thảo. Hearing about the young man's desperate desire to live and his dire circumstances, Thảo's heart sank. She sent Phát's medical records to a doctor friend in the United States, asking for help.

"That doctor has a heart of gold. I asked him for sponsorship, and he helped many critically ill patients recover from their illnesses," Ms. Thao confided.

During Tet in 2023, the doctor returned to Vietnam from the US and then visited his hometown in Quang Ngai. Ms. Thao brought Phat to see him. The meeting was brief, but the doctor's agreement to fully fund the surgery and his contact with colleagues at Hue Central Hospital regarding Phat's condition, after returning from the distant US, was enough to ignite hope.

Listening to her son's story, Mrs. Hoang's eyes welled up with tears. Besides Ms. Thao, the poor mother had never met the other benefactors of her family. Mrs. Hoang said, "I thought I would lose Phat, so when I was 40, I had another son. Now Phat is sitting here eating sunflower seeds during Tet and is healthy. Words like 'gratitude' and 'thankfulness' are not enough to express my feelings for the benefactors who helped Phat."

Joyfully welcoming the new spring with his parents, the young man was given a new lease on life thanks to the heart of another person - Photo: TRAN MAI

By chance, we found a compatible heart.

The story is interwoven, fragmented, yet when pieced together, it reveals the kindness of this life. Phat learned of his illness at the age of 13; his heart transplant was the 13th cross-Vietnam transplant, and Phat was the 14th heart transplant patient performed by Hue Central Hospital.

Phát still vividly remembers November 27, 2024. After his examination, he went to have breakfast in front of Hue Central Hospital when Dr. Nguyen Ta Dong called to inform him that a heart transplant was available. "It felt like destiny. I told him I was at the hospital, so I went in for a check-up, and the heart transplant was a perfect match for me," Phát said.

For years, Phát had been to the hospital repeatedly with no results, but then, by chance, he "added fuel to the dying lamp." Phát only had time to call his father to tell him, "Come quickly, I have a heartbeat now." Mr. Tin called relatives, hastily packed a few clothes, and rushed to Hế. By this time, Phát had already been admitted to the "special ward."

From the moment the heart was received and transported from Hanoi to Hue, the donated heart began beating in Phat's chest. It was a race against time and fully demonstrated the development of the country's healthcare system. Mr. Tin recounted the story with a hurried voice, as if wanting to recreate every moment of that day, November 27th.

"The next morning, the doctor told me the heart transplant was successful, and the heart function was at 62%. My hands and feet trembled with joy. Never in my life had I called my wife and cried while talking to her like that," Mr. Tin said, his voice choked with emotion.

Through the doctors, the family learned that the heart in Phát's chest belonged to a young man who had unfortunately been involved in a traffic accident resulting in a traumatic brain injury. Despite the efforts of doctors at Military Hospital 103 (Hanoi), he did not survive. After the third diagnosis of "brain death," the young man's relatives agreed to donate the heart that Phát was fortunate enough to receive.

Furthermore, the kindness of this benefactor, whom they had never met, saved the lives of many others by donating their lungs, liver, and kidneys.

"I wish I could meet his family to express my gratitude. The heart that is keeping me alive is so kind and loving," Phát confided.

Words of encouragement from the Vice President

More than half a month after the heart transplant, Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan and Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan visited Hue Central Hospital to see and give gifts to encourage Phat.

The greetings from the Vice President and the minister were beyond Phát's imagination because they were "too familiar." "Ms. Xuân asked me how I was doing and what grade I was in. I said I was much healthier than before and had stopped going to school. Ms. Xuân was a little sad and hoped I would recover and return to school. I promised her I would go back to school and am diligently taking my medication after the heart transplant," Phát recounted.

The entire family, consisting of farmers from the most remote commune in Nghia Hanh district, understood the significance of organ donation after Phat's recovery. Mr. Tin even recounted in detail: "On May 19, 2024, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh registered to donate organs and called on adult Vietnamese citizens to volunteer to donate organs. Soon, my family will also register to donate organs, so that later we can help someone like my son is receiving them," Mr. Tin said.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/toi-tuong-se-mat-con-nhung-nho-ghep-tim-gio-con-con-duoc-choi-tet-20250210084342537.htm