Family tortured by illnesses

All four members of a family in Long An province are suffering from various illnesses from degenerative spine to cancer.

Lam Thien Kieu

Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy said her two year-old daughter Lam Thien Kieu has experienced weak health since birth. In early 2015, she suddenly had a fever and fainted. When they brought her to Children's Hospital 1 in Ho Chi Minh City, it was found out that Kieu's right leg was broken and Kieu was diagnosed with malignant soft tissue tumours.

Both Thuy and her husband lack stable jobs and often sell grass for some money. Because of the hard work, Thuy's husband, Lam Thanh Bang has suffered from a degenerative spine which makes him unable to work. Meanwhile their oldest son is mentally disabled and often has nosebleeds because of thin blood vessels.

Kieu has stayed at Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital for the past year because of her worsening condition. By the end of July, the tumour spread to other organs including lungs and liver. It makes her belly swell up and she needs blood transfusions and pain killers regularly.

Dr. Hong Trang said that Kieu's bones were also affected. She said, "This is a tough case. She is barely responding to medicines now and having side effects to chemotherapy."

The family's dilapidated house

Unfortunately, Thuy found out that she had kidney stones after experiencing stomach aches. At first, doctors said she could be treated easily because the stone was 4mm but Thuy stalled her own treatment in order to save money for her children. But the stone has also grown to 12mm.

"Since our daughter was admitted, my husband and I also fell ill and can't do much work. We already borrowed VND50m (USD2,200) but we don't know how to repay it," Thuy said.

Huynh Van Cuong, head of Hamlet 3 said Thuy's most valuable assets were the small house but it had been used as collateral for a VND20m loan.

Without money for accommodation, Thuy and her husband sleep in the hallways and live on charity meals while taking care of their daughter in hospital. On July 28, doctors at a district hospital recommended Thuy to take her son to city level hospital after he suffered from a non-stop nosebleed. But Thuy could only take her son back home.

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