Despite undergoing major surgery for congenital heart disease, the life of 2 year old Vo Nguyen Hoang Lam is still hanging on the balance.

Scars on Lam’s chest after many operations (Photo by Minh Chien)

His family is living at Hamlet 9, Phuc Trach Commune, Huong Khe District, Ha Tinh Province. He is the son to mother Nguyen Thi Thanh and father Vo Van Hoa.

In order to reach Lam’s house, it took us nearly 2 hours to ride a boat across Ngan Sau River then we had to walk a long distance.

Their house is just a tiny, tattered shack. Thanh shared her sad story about her son from inside the shack One year after their marriage, Lam, their first child was born. “My whole family was so happy. My in-laws had built us this shack so that we could work for somebody on their fields and grow some vegetables to earn a living. Unexpectedly, we found out that our son suffered from congenital heart disease. I felt pain in my heart whenever I saw my son struggle to survive against the disease.”

After discovering Lam’s disease, his parents took him to the General Hospital of Ha Tinh Province for treatment. After examination, doctors told them that they need to bring him to the National Hospital of Pediatrics.

In order to have some money for Lam’s food and medicine, his grandmother took him with her to go begging. “My poor grandson! He’s too small but has to bear such a serious disease. I feel helpless when I see him crying,” said Lam’s grandmother.

After four months in the National Hospital of Pediatrics, Lam went through many operations and his heath became weak. His parents ran out of money. They owe a total of VND150 million ($7,617) to cover treatment expenditures for Lam. Unfortunately, Lam’s disease has not gotten any better.

This forced Hoa to move to Vung Tau for work. He sends money to his wife to pay the interest charges to the bank so that they can have money to continue treatment for the poor little boy.

At present, Lam’s disease has put him in a life-threatening situation. Thanh has to take him to the hospital every month. Each visit costs about VND5 million ($254). Thanh sells fruit daily on the street to earn some money. “When I have to take Lam to Hanoi or Ha Tinh, I always try to find time to sell some fruit on the way to the hospital so that I can earn some money to buy medicine for Lam. People feel pity for my circumstance and help me,” said a heart broken Thanh.

Tran Thi Ha, chairman of the People’s Committee of Phuc Trach Commune shared, “Thanh’s family is living in poverty. We have often visited and given them some gifts and money. However, in order to help Thanh’s family to overcome this difficulty, they need help from the whole community.”

Leaving Lam’s house, it is troubling to think about how Thanh and her son can live alone in a shack like this should weather become dangerous. Who will help them?

Medical records of Lam have piled up after many operations (Photo by Minh Chien)

Lam with his mother and grandparents in front of their shack (Photo by Minh Chien)

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