“Nguyen” by Sherry Berger

Nguyen’s Story (2008)

Meet Nguyen – a young woman who is an inspiration to anyone fortunate enough to have met her.

Nguyen was born with a heart condition, commonly referred to as a “hole in the heart”. In a Western country, this would be detected and remedied at an early age. Tragically for Nguyen, living in Vietnam meant that this condition was not diagnosed until recently. She needs a complete heart and lung transplant which is now too late to undertake. At 21 years old, Nguyen is living on borrowed time – hopefully extending into years. Nguyen is a gifted student and, having completed Year12, she dreamt of being able to continue studying and attending university. She now suffers from constant fatigue, nausea, and dizziness, and weighs a mere 34 kilos. Yet despite her physical suffering, she is rarely without a smile. She is a ray of light…pleasant, cheerful, and very funny.

Until recently she had been working at an internet shop, 12 hours a day/7 days a week, earning the equivalent of about $10 per week. Most of this money was being spent on medication with very little left for food. Lifestart is now providing her with sufficient money to quit this life-draining job and use her remaining time doing what she chooses. And, being Nguyen, she chose to help with the Lifestart disabled women’s workshop.

It was quickly apparent that she had the skills and drive to assume the role of supervisor – a job she now relishes. The other women in the group look to this youngest member for guidance as she sets the highest standards of quality control. She has jumped at the opportunity to learn English and she now receives five lessons of one-to-one tuition per week. Her teacher refers to her as a little “sponge” – such is her thirst for learning. A donated laptop from Australia now facilitates her learning and she is undertaking a computer course to further her skills.

Lifestart is ensuring that in the time Nguyen has left she is given every opportunity to flourish …Nguyen is not letting us down.