Meet Hien (pronounced He-In).
She is 16 years old and has cerebral paralysis due to agent orange.
(Her grandfather fought in the Vietnam War (appropriately known as the American War in Vietnam). Hein is the third generation of children since the war, but she is still affected by agent orange.)
She has
little physical movement and can not speak. She can make sounds which her
family has learned to interpret.
She spent the first 10 years of her life, lying in bed,
unable to keep herself upright.
She spent the first 14 years of her life unable to keep
her head upright.
About two years ago American doctors came by her house and
offered Hien’s parents an opportunity to operate Hien’s leg muscles. They were
able to loosen her muscles, which contributed to Hien’s ability to sit up right;
up against surfaces.
Hein lives with two parents, and two younger siblings. Her
sister is 11 years old and goes to school in the afternoon so that she can help
Hien during the day. She cooks for Hien while her mother and father work.
During the day Hien is left alone with the television on for
company. Her mother takes breaks every three hours to come home quickly and
feed Hien.
Hien’s mother told me that the American Red Cross came to
her home and offered to take Hien away to their center. They would keep her at
the center during the week and allow her home visits on some weekends. Hein’s
mother told me that Hien became desperate and tried speaking. What she said
broke through my defenses and broke my heart. Hien told her mother she did not
want to leave her family; she did not want to go. She preferred to die.
Hien is a conscientious young woman. She is aware of her
surroundings and the financial situation at home. Because of this Hien tries
her best to hide when she is sick or unwell. As her mother spoke about Hien,
Hien began to cry.
Her tears soon became sobs. At this point I was having a
hard time controlling my emotions. The most humbling part of this was that Hien
was not crying for herself, but for her mother. She feels bad about all that
has to be done for her. She feels like a burden. The unselfishness in this young girl
astonished and humbled me.
What was I doing when I was 16 years of age? How
conceited and self centered was I? I can only speak for myself and say that I
lived a very dramatic life, in which I thought that my life was the worst one
ever.
Sitting in Hien’s home I understood how lucky I was growing
up. Never in a million years did I think about the life of another 16 year old.
Hien accepts her disability, as does her family. The
Vietnamese people believe that this is fate; this was the life given to them
and so they must make the best of what they have and try their hardest to be happy.
Even so I could not help but feeling desperately helpless. I
want to help Hien, but what can I do?
Before leaving I told Hien that she has a beautiful smile. She was very happy and laughed, her smile becoming even wider.
Keeping a smile on your face, when the world is not fair must be hard. Hein makes it look easy.
Thank you for your time. I know this is a very long article,
but I hope that you took the time to look it over. I will soon post about a
young man named Tu, who was hit by a train. Also, I do not want everyone to think that my blog will only
be about sad things, or that that is all that I am doing in Vietnam. Even though these home visits are sad, they are also inspiring and fill me with determination. I am
having an amazing time here, and will share this happiness with you. I just
wanted to share my home visits first.
Have a great day everyone (or night)!
