Ước Mơ Mong Manh - Tuổi Trẻ Online

A frail wish

Death is waiting for a 27-year-old doctor, who has co-operated with his teachers and colleagues to save so many lives. His dream still exists, but frail.

In the evening of 4th April, I arrived at Chợ Rẫy hospital to meet doctor Huỳnh Anh Tuấn. It was a little bit surprise when Mr Tuấn took off his muffler and said that he had worked with me not so long ago. Although I did look at him carefully but I wasn't able to recognize who I was talking to, a man with a black face, skin head, olympus eyes with sorrow sight and a wide mouth trying to smile.

Tuấn reminded me that he was the man who provided Tuổi Trẻ information about the operation in which he and other doctors of The Surgical Nerve Department had saved a man who drove a nail into his head. I was deeply moved, I wasn't able to believe that the man sitting in front of me was doctor Huỳnh Anh Tuấn.

As other children who were born and grew up in the poor countryside of Quảng Nam province, he had a hard childhood. He was fondness for learning and always an excellent pupil when he was in primary and junior secondary school.

In 1996, he passed two university entrance examinations: HCMC Medical University and Tây Nguyên Medical University (with the highest score). When his family received the notice, they were both happy and worry because they weren't able to afford Tuấn's accomodation in HCMC. Fortunately, he got a scholarship because of his high scores. He also got scholarships during the period of six years in university.

In order to buy books and references, he had to work as a tuitor after school. In 2002, he graduated at good mark and became an interne of The Surgical Nerve Department. He has completed his outline and he will graduate in the next few months. Unfortunately, a malignant disease is destroying him.

Tuấn said that he suffered from continuous high fever in January 2005. Test showed that he got an acute leukemia. Tuấn grieved: "How can my parents bear this news; in addition, three (in a total of six) of my siblings have died suddenly and saddeningly". Tuấn still remembered quite exactly that when he was twelve, his healthy sister got sick and died in hospital afterward.

Five years ago, two of his brothers died of traffic accidents within seven months. That is not all, his father suffers heart disease, his sister gets diabetics and his elder brother gets hepatitis C but these poor people are not properly treated. This is why Tuấn tried hard to get in the Medical University in order to save lives and help poor patients.

His teachers, friends, colleagues, the board of management of Chợ Rẫy Hospital and The Blood Transfusion Hospital of HCMC... have collected approximately 100 million dongs to help him. However, it will cost 60 million dongs more to insert chemicals and a sum of 30.000 USD to transplant spinal cord. Will he pass through?