That wish has been on hold for almost two years for the 45-year-old woman from Thuan Loc village, Binh Tien commune, Huong Tra district. Her youngest son, 13-year-old Huynh Van Thien, was diagnosed with relapsed stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
"When your hair grows back, I'll cut it for you," Diep whispered to her son in his hospital bed at Hue Central Hospital, after a chemotherapy session.
Diep married at 22 and has three children: two daughters and a son. Life was difficult, but the couple worked hard, earning enough to support their children's education. For Diep, that was a fulfilling time, with a complete family and healthy children.
Tragedy struck in 2016 when her husband died suddenly after a stroke. Diep took her three children to Dong Nai province, opened a small hair salon, and worked on a rubber plantation to make ends meet. Seeing her mother's struggles, her eldest daughter quit school after 9th grade to help support the family. During those days, Diep's joy was styling her children's hair.
Life gradually stabilized, and the hair salon gained more customers. But in 9/2023, another tragedy struck. After his first day of 6th grade, Thien developed a persistent high fever and body aches. Diep was devastated when doctors at Cho Ray Hospital (TP HCM) diagnosed her son with stage 4 lymphoma that had spread to his bone marrow.
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Phan Thi Diep and her son Huynh Van Thien undergoing treatment at Hue Central Hospital on 19/6. Photo courtesy of the subject. |
Phan Thi Diep and her son Huynh Van Thien undergoing treatment at Hue Central Hospital on 19/6. Photo courtesy of the subject.
Diep closed her salon and stopped working on the plantation to care for her son in the hospital. With no income, they relied on loans from relatives, friends, and her eldest daughter's salary for hospital expenses.
The borrowed money only covered a portion of the medical bills; health insurance covered the rest. The mother and son also had to be frugal with their spending, accepting meals from charitable organizations.
After a month of treatment, unable to manage the financial burden, Diep requested a transfer for her son to Hue Central Hospital to continue chemotherapy.
Returning to Hue after eight years, Diep enrolled her second daughter in high school at a school near their home. The three of them cleaned up their old house. During the week, Diep stayed at the hospital with her son, while her daughter attended school and took care of household chores. On weekends, the girl took the bus to the hospital to relieve her mother because Thien’s paternal grandparents had passed away, his maternal grandparents were frail, and his aunts and uncles were busy making a living and couldn't provide regular support.
After each round of chemotherapy, the doctors allowed Diep and her son to go home to rest. In her free time, Diep worked as a hired hairdresser at a salon near her home to earn extra income.
"I have to work to have money for my son's food and to gradually pay off my debts. I don't know when I'll be able to pay off the more than 100 million dong I owe," Diep said.
Once an active boy weighing almost 40 kg, Thien is now confined to his hospital bed. The pain makes him quiet, enduring it silently so as not to worry his mother.
Whenever she sees her son in pain, Diep can only hold him and comfort him.
In a corner of the hospital room, Diep keeps her hair clippers and scissors carefully wrapped in a towel. In her over 20 years as a hairdresser, she has never yearned to practice her profession as much as she does now. For her, cutting her son's hair is not merely a task, but a symbol of life.
"I just want my son to get better so he can go back to school and play with his friends," the mother of three said.
In mid-June, doctors announced that Thien's cancer had returned and spread to other organs. The mother and son's battle began anew.
With the goal of inspiring hope for children with cancer, the Hope Foundation has partnered with the Sunshine program to launch the Sun of Hope program. Every contribution from the community is a ray of light sent to the future generation of the country.
Readers can find information about the program here:
Program Name: Ten cua ban - Mat troi Hy vong
Program ID: 195961
Quynh Nguyen
