Bac Lieu: Admiring the determination of a girl whose arms have a disability
(PL+) – The story of Pham Thi My (12 years old, living in Vinh Lac hamlet, Vinh Thinh commune, Hoa Binh district, Bac Lieu province), a pupil in class 4A2 at Vinh Thinh A Primary School, has moved and impressed many people.
What is special about My is that she writes with her left foot.
My is a very special girl: she was born with arms whose bones are flattened and which cannot move normally like other people’s. But she refuses to accept her fate; My has practised writing with her own feet, so that she could go to school and become an excellent pupil for many years in a row.
My has refused to accept her fate and keeps striving to rise above it.
Nguyen Thi Phuong (My’s mother) said she has four children (two sons and two daughters), of whom My is the youngest daughter. Because the family is so poor, My’s siblings all had to leave school early to work as hired labourers far away, leaving only My at home with her parents.
Speaking about her youngest daughter, who is so “different”, Mrs. Phuong confided that when My was born, she did not know what illness My had that left her arms unable to move. The family took baby My to hospital, where doctors said both her arms had flattened bones, leaving them soft and with no feeling. “Hearing the doctor talk about this illness, my husband and I were stunned with pity for our youngest daughter, so disadvantaged and unfortunate.”
According to Mrs. Phuong, the doctor said My’s arms could be treated, but it would be very expensive. “Because my family is so poor, until now I still cannot afford to take her for treatment, and have had to let her grow up with these arms with a disability,” Mrs. Phuong said sorrowfully, pointing at My’s arms.
Pham Kim Liem, My’s third sister, said: “When she was about five, seeing her siblings and friends of her age in the neighbourhood going to school every day, she also really wanted to go to school. But because her arms were so weak, Mother would not let My go to school, afraid she would not be able to write, or carry her books, and would fall far behind her friends and might be laughed at, so she kept baby My at home.”
With her love of learning, My refused to accept her fate. At home, she took her siblings’ notebooks and began practising writing with her feet, since she could not use her arms. “At first I tried using my hands, but I could not hold the pen firmly, so I could not write. Then I tried writing with my feet, but that was very difficult too,” My shared.
My told Phap Luat Plus reporters that although she cannot hold a pen with her hands, when she sits at the desk to write, she has to rest both arms at her sides as supports, which is very tiring.
Yet day by day, through her own efforts, My gradually learned to hold a pen with her left foot and began writing and drawing on paper whatever came to mind. Then, with instruction from her family, My learned to write letters and numbers. “Once she could write, baby My kept asking to go to school, so Mother agreed to enrol her at a school near home,” Kim Liem, My’s sister, said.
Even so, I try to write and study really well so I do not fall behind my classmates.
My’s mother said that at home My has her parents and siblings, and at school she relies on friends for daily activities, because there are personal activities she cannot do with her hands. “Seeing her, a girl with a disability like that, makes our family very sad, but we have no means, so we have to accept it. Even so, seeing her study well makes the family feel less sorry for themselves,” Mrs. Phuong shared.
Many teachers at Vinh Thinh A Primary School share the same view of My: although she is less fortunate than her friends, over the past four school years, by trying hard to write with her feet, My has studied very well and achieved good to excellent results for four years.
At the end of the 2015 – 2016 school year, she achieved excellent pupil status. “My’s case is truly a very special case for the school; her determination to rise above her fate using her feet deserves to be a model for the whole school,” many teachers said.
Ho Thanh Tu (head of Vinh Lac hamlet, Vinh Thinh commune, Hoa Binh district, Bac Lieu province) said: “Mrs. Phuong’s family is in very difficult circumstances; they have many children, and her husband is in poor health but still has to follow fishing boats to earn money for the family. Our locality always cares for and creates conditions to help the family, especially My, who, although she was born with a disability, has the will to rise above her fate and tries hard at school. On holidays, Tet, Mid-Autumn Festival and International Children’s Day, the locality always gives priority to My’s family,” Mr. Tu said.
Talking with us, both Mr. Tu and Mrs. Phuong shared that, although My studies well, seeing her arms with a disability, unable to do anything, is heartbreaking for everyone. “For a long time, my husband and I have really wanted to have her arms treated, but it is too difficult. It is because we are poor and have no money that we have let her grow up like this; truly, my husband and I are not at peace with it, but what can we do?” Mrs. Phuong confided.
My always dreams that one day she will become a teacher.
When reporters asked what she wished for, My said she wanted her arms treated so that when she grows up she can become a teacher, holding chalk and writing to teach poor pupils like herself. The wish of this unfortunate schoolgirl is hard for anyone who hears it not to be moved with compassion.
Nguyen Hoang