Divorced for decades, his first wife still takes care of The Hien in his final stages of life.

Holding the child's hand tightly but unable to speak

On the afternoon of October 4, the funeral of musician and People's Artist The Hien took place at the Ministry of National Defense Funeral Home, Military Hospital 175 (Hanh Thong Ward, HCMC).

Talking to VietNamNet reporter was People's Artist The Hien's daughter - singer Lan Anh.

On the morning of September 30, musician and People's Artist The Hien was still awake, asking for cake, drinking milk, eating rice and chatting with his children like every day.

Around evening, he fell into a coma, and his relatives called him but he did not wake up. When he woke up, his face was pale, he was breathing heavily and felt tired. Lan Anh felt that something was wrong so she immediately took him to the emergency room at Military Hospital 175 (Hanh Thong Ward, Ho Chi Minh City).

Singer Lan Anh - daughter of People's Artist The Hien.

At this time, musician The Hien was very weak and was put on a ventilator by the doctor. He looked at his daughter, held her hand tightly and shook her a few times as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t.

Due to hospital regulations, Bao Huy and Lan Anh had to leave the emergency room and stay outside all night. On the morning of October 1, The Hien was transferred to the Oncology Institute for further treatment.

He became weaker and weaker, his SpO2 index gradually decreased, he was in a coma most of the time, occasionally opening his eyes and staring into space. The musician breathed his last at 9:30 p.m. the same day.

Severe pain in the last 2 months of life

The passing of musician and People's Artist The Hien is a great pain, but his family consoles themselves that he had already overcome death once.

In September 2024, Thế Hiển was hospitalized for the first time in a "near-death" condition. When he was admitted to Military Hospital 175, the X-ray showed that his lungs were "covered in white".

The image of The Hien smiling brightly like in his lifetime.

"The whole family was mentally prepared, even discussing the funeral. After several days in a critical coma, our last ray of hope was a strong Indian pill. Surprisingly, he regained consciousness after 6-7 hours and lived for another year. It was truly a miracle," singer Lan Anh recalled.

For the past year, The Hien has been recovering from illness at home. Before he fell ill, he was in good shape. His peers complimented him on being younger, stronger, and more handsome than them.

Lan Anh sadly said: "As my father's caregiver, I witnessed the whole process of him becoming weak and emaciated. I felt sorry but didn't know what else to do. As children, I could only do everything within my ability."

Although fully aware that his late-stage lung cancer had metastasized to the brain, The Hien still lived optimistically and resiliently, believing he would overcome the disease.

Lan Anh looked at her father's portrait.

He takes his medicine regularly, eats well and maintains the habit of praying to God. The musician craves delicious food and proactively asks his relatives to cook for him.

"Every day, he eats two meals, drinks two servings of milk, and also snacks on yogurt and smoothies like normal people. Perhaps, thanks to his healthy diet, he lived another year," Lan Anh said.

During the last months, Thế Hiển was in a lot of pain and often asked his daughter to buy him painkillers. However, he did not often groan. Lan Anh saw her father grit his teeth and grimace a few times, and knew he was enduring the pain.

The Hien always wanted to organize a private live show to "summarize" his life but in the end he could not do it. Partly because he was weak and could not go; partly because he did not want to reveal his emaciated and sick image to the public.

Due to his illness, Thế Hiển could no longer hold a pen and had to give up his writing work. Occasionally, when he watched music or TV shows, Lan Anh saw his father's eyes light up with joy and excitement that was hard to describe.

Lan Anh told herself she tried to fulfill her filial duties.

Divorced wife still takes care of ex-husband after decades

Lan Anh has been living in Hanoi for 5-6 years now. Since hearing from her mother that her father was ill in April 2024, she quit her job in the North and moved to Ho Chi Minh City to live there.

Lan Anh and her biological mother - Mrs. Minh Thu, also the first wife of People's Artist The Hien - have been his main caregivers for the past year. Even though they have been divorced for decades, Mrs. Thu still remains faithful and takes care of him in the final stages of his life.

In addition to taking care of her father, she sells goods online to earn extra income.

In Lan Anh, The Hien is a gentle father who loves his children with all his heart and lives in harmony with those around him.

When she was born, he was busy touring far away and was rarely home. One time, while making a horse for his daughter to ride, Thế Hiển wrote the song Nhong nhong nhong which is still popular today.

When answering interviews with the press or in conversations, The Hien could not hide his joy and pride in having two successors. However, he hardly expressed it in front of Bao Huy and Lan Anh, only telling his children to try to improve their careers.

For her part, Lan Anh has never ceased to be proud of her famous musician father, loved by many people.

"Seeing many colleagues and acquaintances come to say goodbye to my father, I felt warm inside. He must have lived a very good life...", the female singer said.

Currently, the family is focusing on the funeral of People's Artist The Hien, and has not had time to discuss a specific plan to manage, preserve and promote the huge musical legacy he left behind. However, Lan Anh cherishes the idea of organizing a concert to commemorate him.

Musician The Hien's funeral took place on the afternoon of October 4, and his memorial service was held on the morning of October 7. Afterwards, his body was buried at Binh Duong Cemetery.

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Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/ly-hon-hang-chuc-nam-nguoi-vo-dau-van-cham-soc-the-hien-giai-doan-cuoi-doi-2449215.html