Parents are seriously ill, Olympian puts bonus money in piggy bank to raise younger sibling

Bui Anh Duc - a young man from Tan Lap village, Chieng Sung commune, Mai Son district, Son La province - once created a phenomenon when he was the first person to bring the television show Road to Olympia to the northern mountainous province.

The former English major student from Son La High School for the Gifted won third place overall. But the echoes of Duc after the competition lingered when the audience learned about his special circumstances.

Bố mẹ bệnh hiểm nghèo, nam sinh Oympia bỏ tiền thưởng vào heo đất nuôi em - 1 — Image of Bui Anh Duc at the program "Road to Olympia" two years ago (Photo: Road to Olympia).

In 2013, when Duc was in second grade, his father was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease. A year later, in 2014, Duc’s mother was diagnosed with Schwannoma. For four consecutive years, Duc’s mother underwent two major surgeries, while his father traveled back and forth between Hanoi and Son La for treatment.

By 2020, Duc's father's condition became more serious and he had to stay at Hospital 103. In 2022, Duc's father had to have one kidney removed.

The serious illness has left Duc's family financially bankrupt. Each time Duc's father goes to the hospital, it costs tens of millions. One stay in the intensive care unit costs 300 million. Each day of intravenous nutrition costs more than 3 million. Duc's mother sold the house to pay for her husband's treatment. Duc's siblings have to depend on their grandparents.

But it was also the special circumstances that forged a young man named Bui Anh Duc who was strong, resilient and knew how to calculate for the future.

Since middle school, every time he won a prize money for his excellent student exams, Duc divided the prize money into three parts. He gave one part to his mother for medical treatment, and put one part in his bank account. He put the remaining part in a piggy bank for his younger brother, in case something bad happened, he would have money to take care of him.

Throughout his high school years, Duc received many awards. For 12 consecutive years, Duc was an excellent student. He also won 2 Bronze medals, 1 Silver medal, 1 Gold medal at the national level in Math and English competitions online, First prize at the provincial level and Third prize at the national level for excellent English students in grade 12. Before winning Third prize in the final round of Road to Olympia, Duc won three rounds of weekly, monthly and quarterly competitions.

The money from these outstanding achievements was always managed by Duc into different small amounts with a precautionary mentality.

Last year, Duc enrolled in the German language program at Hanoi University through direct admission. His parents borrowed money to pay his tuition. Duc covered all living expenses with his own savings.

Bố mẹ bệnh hiểm nghèo, nam sinh Oympia bỏ tiền thưởng vào heo đất nuôi em - 2 — Current image of Bui Anh Duc (Photo: Hoang Hong).

Duc revealed that after many years of implementing his financial plan, he has more than 20 million VND to go to university. Duc still maintains the money in the piggy bank to support his younger brother, determined not to touch it. Duc's actual goal is to "plow" a high GPA to continue winning scholarships. Earning money by studying is Duc's ability up to this point.

Duc also shared good news about his father's condition. In 2023, after receiving a kidney transplant, Duc's father was stable, discharged from the hospital and is recovering at home.

Because his mother felt sorry for her filial son who had to grow up early, she always kept the family's debt a secret. Duc confided: "I know my parents had to borrow a lot and it took a long time to pay off the debt, but my mother didn't tell me because she wanted me to study in peace."

Talking about his dream, Duc shared: "People can dream a lot, but I just hope that life from now on will not have many changes like in the past years."

Source link