I wish to become a doctor so I can hear my father call my name just once.

Hoang Ngoc Thai Binh once dreamed of becoming a doctor to cure his father's deafness so that he could hear his father calling him once. Then, a month before the recent high school graduation exam, his father was diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer.

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Mr. Hoang Ngoc Hoang (49 years old, residing in Vinh An village, Hieu Giang commune, Quang Tri) - Thai Binh 's father - is a deaf and mute bricklayer since childhood.

The deaf and mute but skilled bricklayer

He lost his hearing and speech due to complications from a fever when he was young. Despite his family's difficult circumstances, Binh's grandparents still crossed the bamboo fence of the village and took their son to Hanoi to seek treatment, but were unsuccessful. He had to accept living with the silence.

Not giving up on fate, Mr. Hoang learned the bricklayer trade, became a skilled mason, worked hard to support his family and send his two children to school.

Longing for dad to call once, I study hard to become a doctor

When he was a child, Hoang Ngoc Thai Binh often wondered why his father never heard him, why he didn't answer. When he grew older, Binh understood that his father was not like other people, and that urged Binh to learn, hoping that one day he would be able to cure his father's illness.

Since the last years of primary school, the dream of becoming a doctor had been formed. By the end of grade 9, Binh was even more determined when he thought that if his father could hear and speak, life would be very different.

During 12 years of studying, Binh has always achieved high results and has been an excellent student for many years. Notably, Binh won third prize in the Cam Lo District Youth Creativity Contest for the 2023-2024 school year with the topic Research on the ability to reduce blood sugar of bear bile leaves.

This topic was carried out by Binh and three classmates for half a year, testing from animals to humans. This is a stepping stone for Binh to reach his medical dream.

While his mother took his father to the doctor, Binh stayed home to take care of his grandfather and younger brother - Photo: HOANG TAO

Shocking shock before high school graduation day

Just as his dream of entering medical school was about to be reached, Binh faced the biggest shock of his life. At the end of May 2025, one day after coming home from work, his father complained of severe stomach pain. His family took him to the general clinic, where the doctor discovered a liver tumor in his abdomen. He was then transferred to two larger hospitals. The result was devastating: he was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer.

Doctors advised a liver transplant, but the cost would be around 2 billion VND, far beyond the family’s financial capacity. Since then, Binh’s already difficult family life has become even more miserable.

The pain and the lingering dream of a doctor

Mr. Hoang used to be the family's breadwinner, earning 300,000 - 350,000 VND a day as a construction worker. Now he can only walk around the house, and sometimes the pain is so bad that he has to lie down all day. For the past two months, he has been treated at Quang Tri Provincial Hospital, each treatment lasting a week, returning home for a few days and then being hospitalized again when the pain gets worse. The total cost of medicine and hospital fees has reached hundreds of millions of VND.

The family received more than 200 million VND in compensation from the Van Ninh - Cam Lo expressway project, which was supposed to be used to support Binh and his siblings' education. But the money has run out along with Mr. Hoang's increasingly long treatment and prescriptions.

Binh’s family lives on 3 acres of rice fields and the meager income from construction work of Thai Thi Meo, Binh’s mother. But since her husband became seriously ill, her work has been irregular because she had to take time off to take care of her husband in the hospital.

When his mother took his father to Hanoi for treatment, Binh stayed home to cook, take care of his grandfather and younger brother who was in 9th grade.

The graduation exam results brought mixed joy and anxiety. Binh applied to study general medicine at Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy and Da Nang University of Medical Technology and Pharmacy, but the tuition fees for six years of medical study at the two schools would be a difficult borrowing problem for his family.

"The dream of curing my father is probably over, but I still wish to become a doctor to help those less fortunate than him. Later, I also want to help poor people who cannot afford hospital fees," Binh said with a lot of confusion.

Binh helps his mother take care of the chickens - Photo: HOANG TAO

A methodical self-study student

Ms. Le Thi Nguyet, Binh's chemistry teacher for 3 years in high school, commented that Binh was somewhat disadvantaged because of his difficult family situation, lack of learning tools and clothes, but in return, Binh had a very good will to excel in his studies and very good self-study methods.

"Binh confided that if he passed the medical school exam, he would be very worried because he was afraid his parents would not have money to pay for his tuition. If Binh becomes a doctor, he will be a good doctor because he is ethical, emotional, understanding, close to people, and always helps others in their studies," said Ms. Nguyet.

Similarly, Mr. Hoang Cong Nguyen - head of Vinh An village - said that although he is deaf and mute, he is the main breadwinner in the family. In the past, the couple worked hard to support their children, but now that they have fallen ill, things have become more precarious.

In the small house in Vinh An village, apart from his elderly grandfather and his seriously ill father, everyone else thinks about Binh’s future with some hope. Binh says his path is full of obstacles, but as long as he is supported through hardships, he will be steadfast in his career choice.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/mong-lam-bac-si-de-duoc-nghe-cha-goi-ten-du-chi-mot-lan-20250811063313731.htm