Phan Thi Luong (47 years old), a widowed mother in Tien Du 1 Hamlet, Ninh Phu Commune, Ninh Hoa Town, Khanh Hoa, has been facing a lot of difficulties to earn a living for the whole family and look after her two daughters with pectus excavatum.
Phan Thi Luong (47 years old), a widowed mother in Tien Du 1 Hamlet, Ninh Phu Commune, Ninh Hoa Town, Khanh Hoa, has been facing a lot of difficulties to earn a living for the whole family and look after her two daughters with pectus excavatum.
Luong’s eldest daughter, Tran Kieu My Duyen (born in 2000) has recently undergone an operation for metal pectus bar placement at Khanh Hoa General Hospital. As said by Luong, her family was a near-poor household in Ninh Phu Commune. Her husband, Tran Quang Duc, was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2009. They had to sell a part of their land in order to afford the treatment of Duc. After five years of treatment, Duc died of the disease. In order to cover the everyday needs of the family, Luong worked as a worker at an industrial zone far from home.
Duyen’s uncle offered support to help her continue her studying at a vocational school. Last year, Duyen was accepted to work at a restaurant; however, her health was not good enough to keep working. She often felt dizzy, difficult to breath, painful in chest; and looked pale. She was brought to the hospital for medical check and was diagnosed to suffer severe pectus excavatum which required an urgent operation. Reportedly, Duyen was born healthily. When she reached puberty, she sometimes felt tired and had difficulty in breathing. However, her family did not consult a doctor due to some reasons such as financial difficulty. Luong had to borrowed VND50 million to pay hospital fees for her daughter. However, Duyen’s disease requires long-term treatment. Luong had to leave her job to look after her daughter.
As said by Luong, her youngest daughter Tran Le Xuan Thuy (born in 2003) is also experiencing the symptoms of pectus excavatum as her elder sister. However, Luong does not have money to take Thuy to the hospital. “I hope that I can get better soon so that I can find a job and help my family,” said Duyen.
Hopefully, the readers and sponsors everywhere will offer assistance to Luong’s family so that they can cope with the difficulties.
All the supports can be sent to Phan Thi Luong (phone number 0339.124.042) or the charity box of Khanh Hoa Newspaper office (phone number 02583.822019) at 77 Yersin St., Nha Trang City, or Khanh Hoa Newspaper’s bank account at Vietcombank Nha Trang (account number 0581000765262).
B.K.H
Translated by H.N