By Hong Ngan
(DTInews) “If Ms Loc and other kind-hearted people had not helped to take Sao to hospital, his life would have come to an end shortly due to his serious heart condition,” said Director of Heart Hospital of Hanoi, Nguyen Van Mao.
Meet two elder brothers again after long time
After a long business trip, I am back in Hanoi and have come to find out that Nguyen Van Sao – a young shoeshiner, who days ago was facing unavoidable death on the street, has been treated at the Heart Hospital of Hanoi. I rushed to see him, a thin and weak boy in his condition. He’s 16 years old, 1.55m tall and weighs only 33kg.Ms Loc looked at me anxiously and wondered whether Sao would be able to endure surgery in his condition.
Sao weighting himself on a scale.
Sao put his arm around a young man who is about 30 years old, leaned his head against his shoulder, smiled and introduced to me, “This is my cousin who is studying in Hanoi”.
Hoang Minh Chi, his cousin, a final-year student of Hanoi Industry University told me, “After reading the story about him, I recognised him immediately. He looks the same as he did 10 years ago!”
Chi continued, “I figured he was dwarf due to poverty and malnutrition, not heart disease. We stayed in two different communes. I have worked and studied far away from home so I visited my family once a year. But I did not meet him during my visits, I just knew that his parents divorced and he lived with his grandmother and that his elder brother had left the house for about 6 years. Now they meet again, stay together in a hostel and polish shoes for a living."
“When Ms Loc calls me, I take Sao to hospital for checking,” Chi added.
A "compassionate heart" comes to donate to Sao. Loc keeps a written record of the donations.
After adopting Sao, Loc has also kept very busy with her job as a motorbike keeper, while receiving calls from kind hearted readers and writing down their names and addressesto thank them through Dan Tri online newspaper.
This morning it was cold in Hanoi as I drove my motorbike to Ly Thuong Kiet street and met Sao. Loc told me, “He (Sao) is staying at home to take rest and prepare for heart surgery next week. He has been donated directly VND 20 million ($1,100) now. Yesterday there was a person waiting for Ms Loc and Sao at the Hanoi Heart Hospital from morning to noon to invite us to have lunch and buy him some clothes."
Heart surgery for Sao to be carried out soon
Speaking with a correspondent of Dan Tri on November 13, Mao said that Sao had gone through extensive checks and tests. On the afternoon of November 12, a group of professors held a consultation and came to the conclusion that Sao has suffered serious heart damage and that if a surgery is not implemented soon, he will die.
Dr. Mao: Heart surgery for Sao to be carried out soon
On November 16, doctors will put medicine into his heart and take pictures of his heart from inside to reevaluate the extent of his hearts' damage. On November 18, a group of professors will hold a consultation again to decide the best solution.
Mao also mentioned that the hospital offers free heart checking nationwide, then sends a list of patients to local hospitals for monitoring and treating.
