14-year-old girl with leukemia needs help

Do Vu Ha My (born in 2011, Da Tuong Street, Vinh Nguyen Ward, Nha Trang City) was an excellent pupil for 7 years. However, she has had to drop out of school sue to leukemia.

My showed signs of illness during the summer break of grade 7 at Bui Thi Xuan Junior High School, Nha Trang City, such as mild fever, swollen lymph nodes in the neck, bruises on her arms and legs, and bleeding uncontrollably. My’s parents, Do Hai Trang (born in 1979) and Dang Thi Tham (born in 1985) borrowed money from their relatives and friends to take My to Ho Chi Minh City Blood Transfusion and Hematology Hospital for health examination. The doctors diagnosed My with leukemia.

Do Vu Ha My wishes to recover from illness soon so she can continue her study

According to My’s doctors, it takes about 5 years to treat this serious illness and regular monitoring is required to avoid unpredictable complications for My. Chemotherapy sessions cause difficulty in moving her limbs, speech impairment, facial asymmetry, headaches, high fevers, vomiting, and hair loss, etc.

Even with 100% health insurance coverage, My's family still cannot afford the specialized medications not on the approved list, not to mention the costs of food and travel in Ho Chi Minh City. Currently, the family is facing immense hardship. Previously, Trang shipped construction materials to Truong Sa (Spratly), returning home once a month on average, earning around VND20 million per month. Tham was a hotel receptionist until 2021 when she suffered a herniated disc, requiring a year of treatment and leading to her resignation. She then became an online sales collaborator for a shipping company in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, with meager earnings. The husband and wife mortgaged their property for VND400 million to build 2 rooms for rental to earn additional monthly income.

Since My fell ill, Tham and her husband have been financially overwhelmed, resorting to another VND200 million bank loan to cover their daughter's medical expenses. Trang, no longer able to work remotely, resigned from his job to take care of My. "Our greatest hope now is that My can recover from her illness and that this disease doesn't spread to her spinal cord, which would be life-threatening and drastically increase treatment costs that we're already struggling to repay," said Tham.

Although having to leaving school for treatment, My still love reading books to gain more knowledge with the dream of becoming a doctor to cure children with cancer like her. Teachers at Bui Thi Xuan Junior High School have offered My material and spiritual support. The school's board of directors also created conditions for My to reserve her studying results so that she could focus on treating her illness.

According to Tran Quang Thinh, vice-chairman of Vinh Nguyen Ward People's Committee, local authorities have visited and presented gifts to Do Vu Ha My on Tet and other holidays. Additionally, the locality reported My’s case to higher authorities to facilitate My's eligibility for support of VND3 million from the Provincial Children's Protection Fund; helped the family through the process of determining My's disability level to qualify for social benefits. Currently, My receives VND1 million monthly for severe disability. 

People who want to help Do Vu Ha My can contact Do Hai Trang (tel: 0988780607) 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).

T.D
Translated by H.N