The four-year-old boy was not expected to make it through the night

WHEN THIS four-year-old boy was brought from his village many miles away, he was not expected to make it through the night.

But intensive care saw him through the worst of his hand, foot and mouth disease, which is at epidemic proportions in parts of Vietnam and can be prevented by good hygiene practices.

He is now resting quietly in a step down unit (pictured above), where his mother watches over him. 

Seattle Pacific University students have faced cases like this on a daily basis during their MEDRIX study abroad program in Hue Central Hospital.

“There are currently many children with this diagnosis: it is at epidemic numbers,” MEDRIX executive director LaRelle Catherman said.

“15 children from the same daycare center as this boy were infected. 

“The child has suffered a fever, small blisters in the mouth, nausea, vomiting and breathing difficulties. In severe cases there is brain damage and respiratory failure.”

Hand, foot and mouth disease (not to be confused with the foot and mouth disease that affects cattle, sheep and swine) is a virus that is spread by bad hygiene from hands, respiratory routes (coughing), bad toilet habits (fecal to oral) and from contaminated environmental surfaces like cooking spaces.

MEDRIX is committed to teaching good hygiene, including handwashing, food preperation and general cleanliness in the home and community.  This teaching will save the lives of many children.

When teaching such basics, an emphasis is placed on the use of clean water for washing hands after toileting, before preparing food and when coming in from feeding animals or working in the garden. Soap is also given to mothers and children, many of who cannot afford such a luxury.

The hope is that such illness will become less frequent as rural people understand the basics of good hygiene.

Four-year-old Truong and his mother at Hue Central Hospital

Truong is a four-year-old boy who was recently diagnosed with a heart defect and difficulty in breathing.  MEDRIX will partner in sponsorship for him to have surgery. 

He has both a brother and a sister, and lives in a district far from the hospital.  Truong’s father and mother brought him over 320 miles to the Hue Central Hospital for this surgery.

Truong’s father, a farmer, arrived barefoot and with only a few belongings. They had no place to stay and no money for food and housing.  MEDRIX assisted in the sponsorship of Truong’s surgery and emergency needs. 

The mother and father will stay in the hospital dormitory for parents, and will use the emergency funding for food, medicine and a ticket home by train after Truong’s surgery.

MEDRIX-sponsored surgery will mend the hole in this 9-month-old boy's heart

Infant mortality from what are treatable diseases in the West has become a confronting reality for MEDRIX and the Seattle Pacific University nursing students, who have now spent a week caring for children at Hue Central Hospital, Vietnam.

However, MEDRIX is utilizing its resources in desperate situations to provide rays of hope for worlds of difference for Vietamese mothers, fathers and their children.

MEDRIX executive director, LaRelle Catherman, shares one such family’s story direct from the field.

“This boy (at left) is nine months old and has a hole in his heart,” she said. ”MEDRIX will sponsor his surgery in partnership with the Hue Central Hospital and another donor.”

Without surgery, the boy would remain physically weak and may not have made his fifth birthday.

“The parents are farmers who also try to find day jobs to earn money for their two children and themselves,” LaRelle said. ”They live in a village that is about 275 miles from the hospital.  They had to travel with their sick son by public bus to the hospital. These buses are noisy, filled with fumes, animals, people, dogs and unfortunately break down frequently.  

“The father had to borrow a shirt to come to the hospital to meet with us. His hands were very broad and sturdy for his years of gardening. 

“He sobbed with gratefulness when he was told that MEDRIX would sponsor his child for surgery.”

MEDRIX also gave the family money to stay in a room close to the hospital, as the night before they did not have proper protection from the weather, nor mosquitoes, nor did they have enough money for food.  

The money also includes a ticket to travel by train to a location closer to their home, and then by bus the rest of the way to their village after the surgery.

Executive Director of MEDRIX, LaRelle Catherman, with Mrs Chin, who discovers she will receive the heart surgery that will save her life and enable her to care for her family

MEDRIX usually sponsors only children; however, the Hue Central Hospital asked us to take ‘pity’ on Mrs Chin, who is a mother of three children and has a husband who is disabled.

Mrs Chin traveled more than 320 miles from her village, where she and her husband are farmers of dry land rice which is dependent on the weather. She was told that without surgery for her heart valve defect, she would not live more than a few weeks. 

The 46-year-old mother had to come alone to the hospital, she had no money to eat, so other patients took pity on her and gave her small portions of their food.  She was desperate.  

MEDRIX in partnership sponsored Mrs Chin to have surgery and supported her with the resources for food and lodging and a train ticket for when she is healthy enough to return home to her family.

She wept with gratitude upon the discovery.

The joy of hope: a father discovers that MEDRIX will sponsor his son’s heart surgery.

MEDRIX and a team of Seattle Pacific University nursing students have made it to Hue Vietnam to care for children undergoing heart surgery.

As the realities of poverty hit the group – where lack of funds or medical assistance mean that children die from treatable illness – LaRelle Catherman of MEDRIX gives a first-hand account of how her team’s intervention is bringing hope:

“This afternoon we saw three parents with kids who needed heart surgery and one adult woman who has severe heart valve problems. This woman only lacked $250 to have the surgery that will save her life. She was frantic to find the $250.  So we chose to commit that amount.

“She just wept.

“She has three kids and her husband is mentally disabled.  She had no food; other patients would give her small bits of food to eat.  So we gave her some food money, some money to take the train home and some cash for meds and essentials.  She will get a government-issued ‘poor card’ so that she will qualify for government assistance.  

“Two parents of children needing heart surgery - so poor and who live 400 km away - wept.  One man had to borrow a shirt to come to see us; it was very humbling to be in their presence, they were so grateful.

“One lady with her baby had no place to stay until tomorrow when the child will be admitted for surgery.  The kid was eaten alive by mosquitoes last night.  So we arranged for a place for her to stay and be safe and protected tonight.  She also came from about 400 km away

“It has turned cold here, and rainy again, and I’m just so glad that these dear parents are not out on the street or in some dive tonight.  All the kids are to be admitted and hopefully have surgery within this next week – IF the pre-examinations turn out ok. I think (my opinion) that one child will have to wait as he seems to be quite anemic.  The doctor said the lady with three kids is severe and it is urgent that she have surgery.

“Ms Thuy from the hospital’s heart center nearly cried too and asked when we could come back.  She was so kind to all the parents and helped with making arrangements for them to have a place to stay that was safe until they can get into the hospital’s parents dormitory tomorrow night.”

So begins the month-long study abroad program that promises to make a profound impact on both the nursing team and those in their care.

Phu Loc Source of Water October 2011

Phu Loc Number of Students per School October 2011

“I am working on the proposal for safe water systems for schools in Vietnam.

To make decisions about where water treatment systems would work best, we need complete information about the number of students in each school and the source of water that the school uses. The larger treatment systems only are practical for large schools with many students. Additionally the school must have piped water.

These two maps for Phu Loc district show the number of students in schools and also the sources of water. Our next step is to gather missing data before any decisions can be proposed. These maps are a big help in visualizing the work that needs to be done and also in making decisions based on accurate data.”