Praying for a miracle for a young mother and her three small children

"I once dreamed of working hard so my children wouldn't have to abandon their education like I did. But then a devastating illness struck without warning. My health now hangs by a thread, like an oil lamp flickering in the wind. I feel helpless, in pain, and overwhelmed with despair as I watch my young children face hunger, lack of clothing, and a future shrouded in uncertainty," said Chu Thi Phuong, from Hamlet 1, Dong Tam commune, her voice breaking through tears.

The young mother, Chu Thi Phuong, is exhausted from a serious illness, yet her eyes remain filled with worry for her three small children. Photo: Thu Hien

Just turning 35, this should have been the time for Phuong to devote herself fully to building a livelihood, raising her children, and nurturing a complete family. Instead, she is tormented by a deadly disease.

In March 2025, after experiencing unusual health symptoms, Phuong went for a medical examination and was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Doctors advised immediate hospitalization for radiation therapy, estimated to cost 30 million VND. Lacking the funds, she had no choice but to return home, enduring constant pain in silence.

While still battling cancer, in August 2025, she suffered a heart attack and a pulmonary embolism, requiring emergency treatment at 115 Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. Her health is now critically weak, with persistent pain and difficulty breathing.

Her husband, Ly Minh Hieu, always stays by her side, takes care of her in the hope of prolonging her life. Photo: Thu Hien

To afford his wife's treatment, 43-year-old Ly Minh Hieu has borrowed money from everywhere. The debt keeps mounting, pushing the family deeper into hardship. Both sides of the family are also poor. Phuong herself had to leave school after middle school, leaving her hometown in Nghe An to live with a cousin in Dong Tam commune, working as a laborer to make ends meet.

Hieu is of Khmer ethnicity and originally from the Mekong Delta. His childhood was anything but peaceful: after his parents divorced, he lived with his father until his father's death. From that point on, he had to survive on his own, making a living through hired rubber tapping work.

Two difficult lives came together, forming a marriage and bringing forth three children: their eldest son, Le Minh Tuan (14 years old), who has already had to quit school to help his father tap rubber; their second child, Ly Ngoc Anh Duyen (10 years old), a third-grader now at risk of dropping out; and their youngest, Ly Dinh Nguyen (3 years old), just beginning to call "mommy," already facing the absence of a mother's embrace.

The children are forced to work and handle house chores too early, as their mother is gravely ill and their father is constantly away doing labor to support the family. Photo: Thu Hien

The family lives in a 40m² charity house built in 2003, which has now deteriorated, leaking when it rains, scorching in the sun, and no longer providing proper shelter for a true home. More than ever, Phuong's family is in urgent need of compassion from kind-hearted benefactors. A helping hand, a shared heart, may be the miracle that allows this young mother to keep living and her children to continue attending school.

By: Thu Hien

Translated by: Trieu Ngan - Minho