By Van Son
(DTInews) An innocent child was abandoned by its mother when not yet even 3 months old. The Dad, Khoa, now a single-father, has been working hard to raise his child while suffering serious illness himself. His health has left him staring at possible death if he does not receive timely medical treatment as his condition is deteriorating and his illness becomes more and more severe everyday.
No strangers to tragedy
Pham Dang Khoa is the eldest son in the family of Pham Van Vinh, originating from Ben Tre province, and currently residing in Binh Phuoc with a 2-hectare cashew nut field….
The first drama came when the youngest daughter in the family, Pham Thuy Linh (born in 1994,) was found to be suffering from blood cancer. After 5 years of treatment at Oncology Hospital, Linh passed away in late 2007. Bearing the pangs of parting, Vinh also had to face the high interest loans of nearly 80 million VND for the treatment expenses.
Khoa was forced to leave school from grade 7 to take on cultivation duties in order to support his parents and family. He was married at the age of 21, but started to get seriously ill when his child, Pham Le Kim Ngan was just brought into the world. His young wife was distraught and could not carry the burden of these troubles, leaving her newly-born child behind for her ailing husband and his aging parents to take care of.
Vinh said with great torment, "For the last four years we took Khoa to the ChoRay Hospital for medical examinations because he could not even stand due to the endless headaches. The doctors finally detected that Khoa was suffering from a malignant tumor in his brain that would require surgery."
Father and son in the hospital's lobby.
She could lose her father
In the first stage, Khoa’s illness was not too serious, he made an unusual effort to sit up and work as a stevedore to be able to afford some milk for his newborn baby. Soon after Khoa was hospitalised for the treatment, all of his heavy burdens, including medical bills and the expenses of nurturing his baby, had to be placed on his decrepit parents.
Vinh was forced to sell his families entire cashew nut field to cover the treatment costs for Khoa. However, the creditors who he had previously borrowed money to pay for the treatment of his daughter came knocking immediately after he had sold the 2-hectare field demanding for payment. The high interest loans of nearly 80 million VND had become hundreds of million VND after nearly 4 years. Vinh could not even cover those loans with the nearly 200 million VND he had made from selling his field.
A half-month after the surgery to eliminate the tumour, Khoa was brought home for treatment. But after just 5 days at home, Khoa started to have strange symptoms such as memory loss, right hand and leg paralysation, stiff mouth etc.
“Khoa’s illness requires treatment by radiation therapy using 30 rays, each ray costs 500,000 VND. The treatment will be taken within 45 days if there is no arisen complication,” said Dr. Dzung, Cho Ray Hospital.
The little baby does not know what can happen to its father.
Khoa is currently taking radiation treatment at ChoRay Hospital. Khoa and his old father have to stay in the hospital’s lobby out of treatment hour as they could not afford sickroom expenses. Khoa could not even move due to paralysation, so Vinh has to take care of all his daily demands.
Despite all the tragedy this family has already suffered, the situation could become even worse. While the father is in the hospital, the grandparents are left helpless to aid, and a nearly nine-month-old child is at risk of being orphaned. Khoa's illness is getting more severe and this family desperately needs some support to save his life. For information on how to contribute, please see below:
Charitable donations please send to: 1. Pham Van Vinh (Khoa’s father), lobby area of ChoRay Hospital, Hochiminh City. Handphone number: 0986.644.662 Or Vo Thi Xem (Khoa’s mother), Group 4, Cay Gia hamlet, Phu Van, Phuoc Long, Binh Phuoc. 2. Compassionate Hearts Charity Fund – Dan Tri Newspaper (Hanoi) No. 2/48 Giang Vo Str., Dong Da Dist., Hanoi (beside Kim Ma petrol station) Tel: 04. 3. 7366.491/ Fax: 04. 3. 7366.490 Email: quynhanai@dantri.com.vn * Vietnam Dong Account information: Account holder: Bao Khuyen hoc & Dan tri Account number: 10 201 0000 220 639 With Bank: Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade – Hoan Kiem Branch * US Dollar Account information: Account holder: Bao Khuyen hoc & Dan tri Account number: 10 202 0000 004346 SWIFT Code: ICBVVNVX106 With Bank: Hanoi Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade 3. Representative Offices: Ha Tinh representative office: 46 Nguyen Cong Tru, Tan Giang Ward, Ha Tinh City. Tel: 039.3.857.122 Da Nang representative office: 25 Nguyen Tri Phuong, Thanh Khe Dist., Da Nang City. Tel: 0511.3653.725 Hochiminh City representative office: 40/17/16 Nguyen Van Dau, Ward 6, Binh Thanh Dist, Hochiminh City. Tel: 08. 35107. 331 Can Tho representative office: 53/13 Ly Tu Trong, Ninh Kieu Dist., Can Tho City. Tel: 071.3.733.269 |