Living with muscular dystrophy and unable to walk on his own, Ho Hoang Bao Tan, a pupil in class 2/3 at Hoa Son Primary School No. 1, Da Nang, has for more than three years gone to school by wheelchair thanks to his determination and love of learning.
Visiting the small house in an alley in Xuan Phu hamlet, Hoa Son commune, Hoa Vang district, Da Nang, we could not hold back our feelings at the sight of a mother leaning on a stick and her son sitting in a wheelchair. This is a long story full of sorrow in life.
Born and raised in a poor family with many children in a mountainous commune of Hoa Vang district, Ho Thi Chung (Bao Tan’s mother) began, at the age of 12, to show signs of pain in her heels and difficulty walking. The hospital diagnosed her muscles as damaged, and after taking medicine and trying hard to practise, she partly recovered. But in 1995, on her way to Nam O to work, she was in a traffic accident. The accident injured her knee. She could no longer stand on her own feet, and her relatives rushed around seeking treatment, but it did not help. After treatment at the city orthopaedic centre, her condition did not improve but instead got worse. Her legs gradually shrank and she felt pain in her heels.
Her legs showed signs of difficulty walking and she had to rely on a stick. In 2006, she gave birth to her first child, a son who was like a gift from heaven. Although her child was born without the loving care of a father, to her great pain, in 2010 her son Ho Hoang Bao Tan (born 2006) began to show signs of shrinking legs and could no longer walk on his own. According to the diagnosis of Da Nang Hospital, he had muscular dystrophy. Pain piled upon pain; the joy of having a healthy child did not last long before darkness fell on her house. The family consisted of just mother and son, and seeing her only son suffering from illness, she sometimes felt desperate.
The difficult life of the mother and son with disabilities
“The household of Ho Thi Chung is a poor household, but it faces many difficulties in the hamlet; the family has only mother and son, and both have disabilities and cannot walk on their own. Knowing this situation, the local authorities support them with 300,000 VND per month as people with disabilities in the locality, to partly help the mother and son” – Mr. Vo Van Ky, head of Xuan Phu hamlet, said.
For nearly three years now, Bao Tan has gone to school regularly with the help of his friends, in his wheelchair. When asked about his dream, Tan said: “I just want to go to school, to go to class. Even though I have to sit in a wheelchair, I still want to study really well so that I can help my mother later. My mother has sore legs and cannot walk on her own, and that makes me very sad.”
Ms. Chung’s son with a disability still looks at life with longing and hope. The daily life of mother and son depends on the grandmother (73 years old). To help her friend realise her dream, for more than three years Nguyen Thi Kim Huy, a pupil in class 5/1 at Hoa Nhon Primary School No. 1 in Hoa Nhon commune, Hoa Vang district, has pushed her friend’s wheelchair to school.
School friends Kim Huy – Bao Tan help each other get to class
“I felt so sorry for my friend, so I just helped her; besides, there is no one at her house to take her to school, and her mother is ill and has to lie in bed” – Kim Huy shared.
As a well-behaved, diligent pupil, Bao Tan receives the care of his friends and teachers at Hoa Son Primary School. The road to school is nearly 3 kilometres long, and whether it rains or shines, the two close friends still go to class with determination and their dreams.
All of Bao Tan’s daily activities depend on his wheelchair
Ms. Nguyen Thi Diem Trang, the homeroom teacher of class 2/3, said: “Tan studies very well and is very well behaved. Born into a family in difficult circumstances, he always strives to rise up in life and goes to school regularly. I noticed that Tan’s body is shrinking, so I arranged for him to sit at the front desk so he can learn better. In grade 1, he was an excellent pupil and received a certificate of merit from the school”.
Ms. Ho Thi Chung eagerly told us about her son’s academic achievements. From kindergarten through grade 1, he was always an excellent pupil. Although he does not have the physical condition of his peers, Bao Tan studies very hard and attends class fully. Holding her son’s certificate of merit in her hands, the mother with a disability smiled with pride.
The happiness of the mother with a disability holding her son’s certificate of merit
Seeing the loving eyes of Ms. Ho Thi Chung looking at her son, we could not help feeling sad. If only there were a man in the family, the life of mother and son would be less hard. Difficulties and suffering have come to her family so often. She is still trying to live to raise her son; the small grocery shop in the small house was built with funds from neighbours and help from sisters in the family, some contributing labour and some money. She cannot sell goods herself; whoever wants to buy something takes it themselves and pays her themselves.
Sharing the difficulties of daily life, Ms. Chung said: “The hardest thing is bedtime, when neighbours who come to buy things help carry Tan to bed. In the morning, I have to ask someone to help me get up”.
On the country road full of stones and sand, Bao Tan still carries his schoolbag to school with the wishes and faith of his mother. He is now an excellent pupil in class 2/3 at Hoa Son Primary School No. 1 in Hoa Son commune. Looking at her son in his wheelchair, Ms. Chung said with tears in her eyes: “I only hope someone will give my son a new wheelchair to go to school, to learn numbers and letters and conquer his dream”. That is a wish this mother with a disability has not yet been able to fulfil.
The care of the homeroom teacher for Bao Tan
When asked about Bao Tan, Mr. Truong Minh (the school’s vice principal) spoke of him with great respect: “Bao Tan’s presence at this school is a great encouragement and motivation for the pupils and teachers working here. Despite his difficult circumstances, he still studies well, which makes me very happy. The school always creates favourable conditions and recognises the efforts of pupils in such circumstances”.
The longing eyes of the mother with a disability, together with the help and encouragement of friends around them, are a great strength helping Bao Tan succeed in his studies. Leaving Ms. Chung’s house, we were still troubled by worries about the future of the mother and son with disabilities. Hopefully, in the not-too-distant future, Bao Tan will conquer his dream, and accompanying him on that road will be not only his mother and friends, but also the loving arms of society.
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