Danang mother seeks help for son left bedridden after crash

Under the scorching summer sun, the small home of Nguyen Thi Loi, 54, in Song Binh Village, Ha Nha Commune, Danang, is filled with heavy sighs and the weight of repeated family tragedies.

Her husband died from cancer, her mother-in-law passed away after years of illness, and now her youngest son is confined to bed following a traffic accident. The succession of hardships has pushed the hardworking woman to the brink of physical and emotional exhaustion.

Nearly a year after the life-changing accident, Nguyen Dinh Tay, 27, suffered a severe traumatic brain injury that left the left side of his body paralysed. He has completely lost the ability to work or live independently and requires round-the-clock care for everything from eating and personal hygiene to physical rehabilitation.

Looking at her motionless son, Loi struggled to hold back tears.

"He is still so young, only 27 years old. I just hope he can one day sit up on his own and take care of himself so I can return to work and repay our debts," she said.

Loi recalled the family's descent into hardship. In late 2023, her husband, Nguyen Cam, 57, was diagnosed with stage-three oesophageal cancer. Once a healthy labourer, he spent months travelling in and out of hospital for treatment as the family's savings disappeared under the burden of medication and chemotherapy costs.

By late 2025, while Cam was fighting for his life in hospital, Loi received devastating news that her youngest son had been involved in a traffic accident while returning home from work. The mother found herself running between hospital wards, caring for her critically-ill husband while keeping vigil beside her son, who remained unconscious in intensive care.

"There were days when all I could do was cry. My husband was in one place, my son in another. I did not know where to go first," she recalled.

In January this year, Cam died after a long battle with cancer. Two months later, Loi's 87-year-old mother-in-law also passed away after spending years bedridden following a traumatic brain injury. The successive losses left the already struggling household even more desolate.

To pay for her son's treatment, Loi has borrowed money wherever she could. The family's debt has now exceeded VND 100 million (approximately USD 3,850).

Each month, medication and rehabilitation therapy for Tay cost nearly VND 10 million (approximately USD 385), an overwhelming burden for a family with no stable source of income.

Loi was forced to leave her job to care for her son full-time. Her elder son, a carpenter with a wife and two young children, faces financial difficulties of his own and can offer only limited support.

What has touched many local residents is that despite her family's hardship, Loi does not blame the person responsible for the accident.

"They are acquaintances and their circumstances are difficult too. The family came to apologise and ask after my son, but they are struggling financially as well. Accidents are something nobody wants, so I have not demanded much from them," she said.

Tran Thien Tha, head of Song Binh Village, said the family had endured immense hardship for more than three years as one tragedy followed another.

According to Nguyen Van Khanh, chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee in Ha Nha Commune, local authorities have appealed for donations and support, but the assistance received has fallen far short of the family's needs.

Speaking through Dantri/Dtinews Newspaper, Khanh appealed to readers and benefactors to help Tay continue his treatment and rehabilitation.