DV Minh Cuc: Single mother raising a child with cerebral palsy, mentally preparing for the worst

Minh Cuc is a familiar actress on the Northern stage. She has also attracted public attention for her journey as a single mother, raising her daughter with cerebral palsy alone for the past 14 years.

"When I was 20 days old, my heart stopped once."

Minh Cuc confided: "I got married in 2010, and decided to have a baby in 2011. A woman's psychology when getting married and having a baby is very happy, and so are both families."

Minh Cuc's pregnancy journey was as normal as any other mother's, both mother and child were healthy. But the incident happened right when she went into labor.

"I followed an obstetrician from the very beginning of my pregnancy. My due date was May 20, but a week before that, my water leaked. I went to the hospital for a check-up and the doctor kept me under observation. After half a day, the baby's heart was still beating normally, and I didn't feel any labor pains, so I went home.

A week later, my water broke. I was taking a shower that day. The amniotic fluid was abnormal, moss green because the baby had pooped meconium. I called the doctor and went to the hospital right away. Because my water broke, I didn't have labor pain. I was told to wait to give birth like other mothers.

Because I had no experience, I put all my trust in the doctor without knowing that if the baby had meconium, it was very dangerous and could kill both mother and child.

I don't know if it's because of my bad luck. During the pregnancy, the baby was very healthy, but the baby was stuck in amniotic fluid for so long.

I went in at 12:30 noon and was not operated on until 5 or 6 pm. At around 4 pm when the assistant surgeon came to check on me, he yelled loudly. I then realized how dangerous the situation was. He said, "Why did you leave it like this? You've pooped all the green meconium, why didn't you let me in for surgery right away?"

When I took the baby out, I still heard him crying normally but I couldn't see him and the doctors took him straight to the incubator for emergency care.

I was not updated on my child's condition at that time. It was not until I returned to the recovery room and started feeding and breastfeeding my child that I saw that my child's condition was not as normal as usual.

According to the actress, due to being stuck in amniotic fluid for too long, her daughter suffered from liver failure, heart failure, kidney failure, and all functions could not be completed on their own.

"When my baby was 20 days old, his heart stopped again. He was given all kinds of strong antibiotics. During the time he was in the hospital, the doctor told the family several times to prepare themselves mentally, because at any moment he could have a heart attack.

At just 20 days old, my child had to undergo surgery to have a device placed in his heart. I was in the hospital with him for more than 2 months after birth," Minh Cuc said.

Don't blame anyone.

The journey of taking care of and raising children at home is a thousand times more difficult. "After the heart surgery and being allowed to go home, the doctor said that my child would be slower than other children in the future.

During the pregnancy, the baby was very healthy, without any congenital diseases, but the baby was suffocated by dirty amniotic fluid for too long, no oxygen reached the brain, so one side of the baby's brain was not fully developed. At that time, I was mentally prepared."

When the MC asked if she was scared, Minh Cuc confided: "At that time, I was scared but had to ignore everything, just thinking that I had to make my child healthy at all costs, and put all my money into it.

I don't blame anyone, and I won't do that anymore. Some people even asked me why I didn't sue. I said, just consider it a good deed, a good deed for them. If I sue, my child won't get better.

I didn’t think about finding fault or whining, I was just busy trying to fix my child. I didn’t cry either, it was just my grandparents crying because they loved me. I was just worried about fixing my child.

When I came home, my baby didn't breastfeed. When I fed him from a bottle, he didn't suck or chew. Every time he ate, I had to spoon-feed him for an hour. I sat there for hours, hunching over to feed him for many meals a day."

She continued: "At 4 months, my baby had contractions and twisting. I took him for a CT scan and found out that one side of his brain was not developing.

She is very sensitive. Just seeing the slight change in my eyes, she knows I am sad, she cries immediately. For children with cerebral palsy, it is due to lack of oxygen to the brain at birth, not congenital. When I publicly announced Tu Minh on TV, people did not know and asked, congenital?

Some people criticize me, why didn't I abort my child when I was pregnant, knowing that he would be like that? Why did I give birth to him and make him suffer? But it's not inborn. One mistake can lead to a healthy child turning into this.

I feel sorry for her fate. At this point, a 14-year-old girl should be a young woman, knowing how to confide in her mother and love someone, but she is not like that. Even when I was pregnant, I planned for her to follow a career. I had many plans for her future, but they all suddenly collapsed. I feel sorry for her because we are both women and she is at such a disadvantage."

Sharing about taking care of her child every day, Minh Cuc said: "Now everything is a habit, if I don't do enough every day, I always feel lacking. People say taking care of a normal child is hard enough, taking care of a child with cerebral palsy is 10 times harder than other children.

Children like that have to take brain supplements and immune boosters every day. Some children cannot chew, so they have to take syrup or syringes. My 14-year-old child still has to eat and drink with a syringe. He even purees porridge and cannot eat rice.

For children like my Tu Minh, the most painful thing for a mother is knowing in advance when her child will leave her. Because, children like that, do not have a long life. Some children are only a few years old, some are in their teens, some are in their twenties... their physical condition varies depending on the severity.

Like my child, there is no cure. I took him to get a stem cell test, the doctor said not to try, there is no chance of recovery. If it was only 10% or something like that, I would do anything, but the doctor said 0%."

Minh Cuc emotionally said that she had mentally prepared for the day her child passed away. She confided: "Every year I take pictures of my child, capturing many moments of the two of us and always have beautiful and direct photos of my child. I know my child could pass away at any time, so I prepare the best photos of him.

People ask me if I was okay then? But if it wasn't okay, it had to be okay. At this point, I think, as long as my child is alive, I have to make it up to him for every day. I don't know how I was at that time, but if I had known in advance, I probably wouldn't have been so surprised."

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