The newly received heart helps Phat get healthier - Photo: TRAN MAI
It's been a long time since Phat had a complete Tet holiday, being able to go to the neighbor's house to play without feeling tired.
Phat is living off the hearts of others, and the young man's whole family is filled with happiness. "Never before has the whole family celebrated Tet with such bustling laughter like this Tet At Ty," said Mr. Huynh Van Tin (52 years old, Phat's father).
Darkness under the lamp
Pouring a cup of tea, Mr. Tin leisurely invited his guests. Every now and then, looking at Phat, the father with a gentle face would smile. Deep down, Mr. Tin always considered Phat as his little child, needing to be cared for and loved for life.
Throughout the conversation, love was connected and Phat was the center of the story that lasted a decade. In 2014, Phat turned 13 years old, studied well and was obedient. Seeing his son was smart, he told his wife "our life is hard, try to raise Phat to escape the farming life, I believe he will become famous".
Of course, Mrs. Huynh Thi Hoang (49 years old, Phat's mother) also shared that expectation. But the joy was short-lived and the pain was long-lasting. While playing soccer with his friends, little Phat felt tired in the chest and then vomited. Mr. Tin "carried" his son to Quang Ngai General Hospital for emergency treatment, then transferred him to Da Nang Hospital.
The world collapsed before Mr. Tin and his wife's eyes when the results showed that Phat had dilated cardiomyopathy and end-stage heart failure. Phat's heart rate was only 12%. The pain and fainting came continuously. Mrs. Hoang could not remember how many times her son had to be hospitalized in critical condition.
Putting his arm around his son's shoulder, Mr. Tin said: "The feeling of being full of hope for him, then suddenly having to live is really terrible. It's like the darkness under a lamp, completely blind."
Sitting next to his father, Phat suddenly became filled with thoughts. Even Phat himself did not expect his life to turn into such a dead end. Although Phat tried to overcome his illness, passed the university entrance exam and entered the lecture hall. But then, after climbing the stairs and losing his breath, Phat had to give up his dream and return to his hometown.
"Since dropping out of college and returning home, I've been so tired that sometimes I can't even walk from summer to the yard. Without needing a test, I know my life has come to an end," Phat confided.
"The light of fate" gradually faded, darkness covered Phat's life. But as a father, Mr. Tin did not accept that truth. "While there is life, there is hope", in 2018 Phat registered
heart transplant
at Hue Central Hospital. Only now did Mr. Tin confess: "I registered for a heart transplant because as a father I could not see my child in pain. But honestly, I understand that finding a compatible heart and the money for the surgery is really beyond the family's reach."
In fact, once the hospital announced that there was a compatible heart, the compassionate doctors in Hue called on the community to support the transplant to save Phat. But then the donated heart "stopped beating" and the glimmer of hope was completely extinguished.
After that, every time a heart was donated, the doctor called Phat for testing. Many times the test results were inconsistent, many times he had to turn back halfway because the doctor informed him that someone had come to test and was a match... "The doctors love patients like me so much! They want to save everyone, but I know it's not easy," Phat said.
Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan and Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan visited Hue Central Hospital and gave gifts to encourage Phat - Photo: Provided by the character
Luck comes, lighting up the hope of a heart transplant
During those years, Phat wandered the internet, looking for groups with similar illnesses to find a good medicine to save his weak heart. Then luckily, a person who had received a heart transplant and was living well in Quang Ngai introduced Phat to retired teacher Nguyen Thi Thu Thao - the person who had called for help.
As if lighting up hope, the grandfather took Phat to Nghia Thuan commune, Tu Nghia district, Quang Ngai to find Thao. Hearing the young man's desire to live and his difficult circumstances, Thao felt down. Thao sent Phat's file to a friend who is a doctor in the US, asking for help.
"That doctor has a heart of gold. I asked him to sponsor and help many terminally ill patients escape from illness," Ms. Thao confided.
During Tet 2023, the doctor returned to Vietnam from the US, then stopped by Quang Ngai to visit his hometown. Ms. Thao brought Phat there. The meeting was very short, but the nod of acceptance to sponsor the entire cost of the surgery and the doctor returning from the faraway US contacted his colleagues at Hue Central Hospital about Phat's condition, enough to kindle hope.
Hearing her son's story, Mrs. Hoang's eyes blurred. Besides Ms. Thao, the poor mother had not met the other benefactors of the family. Mrs. Hoang said: "I thought I would lose Phat, so when I was 40 years old, I gave birth to my youngest son. Now Phat is still sitting here eating Tet melon seeds and is healthy. The words "grateful" and "thankful" are not enough to express my feelings for the benefactors who helped Phat."
Happy to welcome the new spring with his parents, the young man was revived thanks to another person's heart - Photo: TRAN MAI
Coincidentally found a compatible heart
The stories overlap, follow a broken rhythm but when put together, we see enough kindness in this life. Phat was diagnosed with the disease at the age of 13, Phat's heart transplant was the 13th cross-Vietnam case, Phat was the 14th heart transplant patient performed by Hue Central Hospital.
Phat still remembers clearly November 27, 2024, after the examination, Phat went to Hue Central Hospital to have breakfast when Dr. Nguyen Ta Dong called to say there was a heart. "It was like fate, I told him I was at the hospital, so I went in for a check-up and that heart was completely compatible with me," Phat said.
For years, he had been to the hospital over and over again with no results, but one day, by chance, he "filled the lamp with oil". Phat only had time to call his father to tell him "come out quickly, I have a heart". Mr. Tin called his relatives, quickly packed some clothes and ran to He. At this time, Phat was also in the "special room".
From the time the heart was received and transferred from Hanoi to Hue, the donated heart was beating in Phat’s chest. It was a race against time and fully demonstrated the development of the country’s healthcare. Mr. Tin himself told the story with an urgent voice, as if he wanted to recreate the entire rhythm of time that passed on November 27.
"The next morning, the doctor told me that the heart transplant was successful, with a heart function of 62%. My hands and feet were shaking with joy. I have never called my wife and cried like that day," Mr. Tin choked up.
Through the doctor, the family learned that the heart in Phat's chest belonged to a young man who was unlucky enough to have suffered a traumatic brain injury in a traffic accident. Although doctors at the 103 Military Hospital (Hanoi) tried to save him, he did not survive. After the third diagnosis of "brain death", the young man's family agreed to donate the heart that Phat was lucky to receive.
In addition, the kindness of the unprecedented benefactor also saved the lives of many others by donating his lungs, liver, and kidneys.
"I wish I could meet his family to say thank you. The heart that is keeping me alive is very kind and loving," Phat confided.
Words of encouragement from the vice president
More than half a month after the heart transplant, Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan and Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan visited Hue Central Hospital and gave gifts to encourage Phat.
The greetings from the vice president and the minister were beyond Phat's imagination because they were "too close". "Ms. Xuan asked me how I was and what grade I was in. I said I was much healthier than before and had dropped out of school. Ms. Xuan was a bit sad and hoped that I would get better and return to school. I promised her I would go to school and was trying to take medicine after the heart transplant," Phat said.
The whole family, the clan of farmers, in the most remote commune of Nghia Hanh district, after Phat's revival, understood the meaning of organ donation. Mr. Tin even recounted in detail: "On May 19, 2024, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh registered to donate organs and called on adult Vietnamese people to voluntarily register to donate organs. In the near future, my family will also register to donate organs, later on we can help someone like my son is receiving", Mr. Tin said.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/toi-tuong-se-mat-con-nhung-nho-ghep-tim-gio-con-con-duoc-choi-tet-20250210084342537.htm
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