04:10, 28/10/2022

Poor and ailing parents and their autistic child need help

The family Vo Si Hung (born in 1961) and Dinh Thi Mai Xuan (born in 1963), living in Tan Phuoc Tay Hamlet, Van Phuoc Commune, Van Ninh District are facing a lot of difficulties and are in need of help. Hung is sick; Mai is suffering from stage IV metastatic breast cancer; their youngest daughter is autistic. 
 

The family Vo Si Hung (born in 1961) and Dinh Thi Mai Xuan (born in 1963), living in Tan Phuoc Tay Hamlet, Van Phuoc Commune, Van Ninh District are facing a lot of difficulties and are in need of help. Hung is sick; Mai is suffering from stage IV metastatic breast cancer; their youngest daughter is autistic. 
 
Hung and Xuan have 8 children, two of them died young. Hung's family mainly lives by farming with average income from VND2.5 to 3 million per month. Xuan was diagnosed to have cancer on her left breast at the end of 2009. She was told she needs 6 rounds of chemotherapy and 14 times of radiation therapy. The treatment and travel costs are high; meanwhile, they didn’t have much money and couldn’t give their small old house as security for a loan. They borrowed nearly VND50 million to pay Xuan’s treatment cost. However, Xuan's condition is getting worse and worse; the cancer has metastasized to both sides of her pelvis. She also has type 2 diabetes and spinal stenosis. 
 
Hung's family is in need of help
Hung's family is in need of help

Hung was severely sick around early 2022. He was initially treated at Khanh Hoa General Hospital and then was transferred to Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases due to severe lung damage. His children borrowed money, and their neighbors offered support to help Hung be treated. After more than one month of treatment at the hospital, Hung asked to be discharged because his family couldn’t afford to pay treatment costs. Now, Hung has swallowing and speaking difficulties due to the sequela of prolonged intubation during his hospital stay.

 
Since becoming sick, Hung and Xuan cannot do farming work to earn a living, so their situation has become more and more difficult. Most of their children are married and are living far from home; only Vo Thi Bao Trang (born 2002) and Vo Thi Bao Tram (born 2006) are living with Hung and his wife. In order to help her parents, Trang, a third-year student at Nha Trang University, works part-time to earn money for her tuition and rent. Tram has suffered from autism since she was 11. In addition to the symptoms of autism, Tram also often has seizures, foams at the mouth, etc. due to epilepsy.
 
Currently, Xuan and Tram receive a social allowance of VND1,080,000 per month for people with severe disabilities. Xuan has an appointment for a follow-up examination at Ho Chi Minh Oncology Hospital on October 26, but her family can't afford the treatment anymore.
 
Although Van Ninh District Red Cross and Van Phuoc Commune have offered support to Hung’s family, they are still in desperate need of help. The localities hope that people everywhere can help the family to overcome the difficulties. 
 
People who want to help Hung’s family can contact via tel: 0386273661 or Khanh Hoa Newspaper office (tel: 0258.3822019) at 77 Yersin St., Nha Trang City. Support can also be sent to Khanh Hoa Newspaper’s bank account at Vietcombank Nha Trang (account number 0581000765262).
 
Ha Duong
Translated by H.N