Donating her mother’s organs to save others: “Lessons are never too late to learn”

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TTO- A young woman dropped out of school due to early financial problems. After an accident on the road which resulted in her mother’s death, she decided to donate her mother’s organs in the hopes of saving other patients. Her story has stirred the hearts of many civilians across the nation. For her, lessons are never too late to learn.
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In their subsidized house in Cam Nhuong fishing village, in between the districts of Cam Xuyen and Ha Trinh, two years after the tragic death of their mother, Nguyen Thi Lieu, three sisters hold onto each other for support each passing day.

“The recipients are praying for the same miracle that we are”
After two years of grief, the pain between sisters Nguyen Thi Sang (21 years old), Nguyen Thi Luong (19 years old) and Nguyen Ngoc Thuy (3 years old), from losing their mother is still ongoing.

Although sorrow heavily shadows the household, never have sisters Sang and Luong regretted the decision to donate their mother’s organs to the patients in need.

During the unnerving minutes waiting to hear about their mother’s condition at Cho Ray Hospital (Ho Chi Minh City), Luong watched a program on the hospital television screen on Donor Happiness.
“I prayed for a miracle to come. The doctor told me that patients who were waiting for organ transplants expected as much as we did.”
After finding out that her prayers for a miracle had been ignored, Luong made the honorable decision to donate her mother’s organs to medicine.

In the fishing village where the sisters lived, donating human organs was a fairly new concept. In fact, some might even consider it bad karma to donate something that belongs to the skies.

Sang reassured that though several neighbors gossip about their decision to donate their mother’s organs, she does not think that their opinions are important.
“After two years, I still feel weary just thinking about those days. But we have never regretted our decision.”
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Tears roll down her cheek as Luong laments the minutes before the tragic accident. She had left home with her mother, who was carrying one-year-old Thuy at the time, to buy a new battery. Luong walked ahead, unaware that just a few steps behind her, a car had rammed into her mother until she turned around.
She didn’t know what happened. Her mother’s body was already on the ground. When she was rushed to the hospital, Luong had to stay home to take care of Thuy. And when Sang called home to ask about mom, Luong recounts that she was still in shock, and was unable to tell Thuy what had happened. The next day, their cousins also showed up at the hospital to hear the news. After consulting with her family, Luon decided to donate her mother’s organs.

She describes that a life without a father and a mother is comparable to a snapped string. Since her mother had passed away and her father had a new family, the three sisters decided to return to their mother’s hometown to live on the soil where she was raised. During the most difficult days, they would rely on their uncle for support.

Knowing that they suffer a great deal of anguish their mother’s accident, Nguyen Tien Duong always encourages his nieces to live well every day. He assures them that their decision to donate their mother’s organs to save other people was noble, a decision that others should follow as well. He explains that not only will the organ help the recipient, but it would also answer the prayers of the recipient’s family.
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“Learning makes life more meaningful”

After returning to her mother’s hometown, Sang struggled to find a stable job. She decided to fill her mother’s shoes at home by taking care of 3-year-old Thuy, while Luong resumed her education at school.

Born in Dak Nong, it was difficult for Luong to readjust to her new schooling environment. She had adapted to her new teachers, the school’s curriculum and her new friends.

In the early days after her Sophomore year in high school, Luong followed her mother and older sister into Binh Duong to watch her baby sister while her mother worked. During her leisure time, she helped wash dishes around the local restaurants. However, though she did well at school back then, Luong had to drop out due to financial problems to take care of her family.

Faculty at Luong’s new school has reduced her monthly tuition fee by chipping in 500,000 VND for her. Though she is behind her classmates, Luong chose to re-enroll herself at school. For her, learning is never too late.

In her junior year of high school, Luong averaged a total of 8.1 points. And in her senior year, Luong was able to transfer into more advanced classes.

After her long day of classes, Luong spends her evenings taking care of her little sister, Thuy, while doing her homework. On particularly difficult nights when Thuy cries for their mother, Luong stays up to calm her to sleep and resumes her studying early in the morning before class.

She explains that without her mom around, the situation at home is more difficult than ever. She recounts a time where she was beaten by her classmates at school. When she came back home, her little sister, Thuy, was crying for their mother. The heartache that day was unbearable. They spent that night holding each other tightly and crying together.

As of this moment, Luong is struggling to balance her time studying for her upcoming National High School Exam with the hardships she faces at home. Aware of her situation at home, her teachers encourage her to keep studying. She recently applied to the Foreign Language University in Da Nang. She explains that after her mother’s death, she did not dare to think about school. But because she wants her life to be fruitful, instead of applying for a job as a worker earning minimum wage, she wanted to take her education and her life a step further.

“I have to try and study,” Luong said.

Though her uncle Tang supported her aspirations in going to school, he knows that her family situation demands otherwise. Besides the monthly support of 1.3 million VND from the government, his nieces did not have enough money to securely support themselves.

After finishing her applications for university, the next concern for the 19-year-old is her sister, Sang. She worries that if she leaves for school far away from her mother’s hometown, Sang would have to take care of all the housework and 3-year-old Thuy herself.

After turning 21 years old, Sang’s body becomes limper every day. Her smile is only evident when she watches Thuy play. And her Before the accident, Sang’s relationship with her mother is compared to “shape and shadow.” They were always by each other.